PROXIMITY CARDS

Proximity Cards are identification cards which contain information that can be detected by readers placed in proximity to them.

Embedded in each proximity card is an antenna which transmits information encoded as a radio signal. (Anther name for ID badges of this kind is "Radio Frequency Identification", or RFID cards.) A proximity card reader positioned between 2.5 and 20 inches (depending on the model chosen) receives this signal and grants or denies access accordingly. Unlike contactless smart cards, proximity cards do not have the ability to have new information written onto them.

Many organisations need to restrict entry into particular places within their facilities. Proximity cards provide ID card security while allowing fast, easy access to areas an organisation otherwise proscribes.

Proximity cards often work hand in hand with ID card software. Information about the person, who has been given this ID card, stored on a microchip and transmitted in a radio wave, appears on a computer screen to verify the cardholder's identity. The entrances and exits of the proximity card holder can then be logged into a computer database, providing a digital record of who was in a given area at any given time.

Some software immediately notifies the company security station if an attempt is made to enter an area with an unauthorized proximity access card; other versions protect your computer network by detecting invasions from unauthorised computer databases.

Uses for Proximity Cards Proximity cards are often found useful by people working in government buildings, military bases, hospitals, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies - in fact all businesses and institutions that work with sensitive information or significant sums of money. Proximity cards may also be a suitable choice when selecting ID cards for students or school employees.

 

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