Mifare cards are one of the most widely used and best-selling smart cards on the market, most commonly used as contactless cards, e-tickets and readers worldwide. Most transport providers use Mifare cards, as do schools, sports organisations and many other businesses.

Genuine Mifare cards use NXP chips from NXP Semiconductors, a trademarked product that guarantees quality, security and reliability.

Could your Mifare cards be clones?

Until quite recently, the market has been awash with unauthorised cloned cards from China. These cloned alternatives are much cheaper, but use unstable technology that fails to deliver the performance and security of authentic Mifare cards. They are also illegal and NXP will act against anyone infringing on their trademarks.

What are the problems with cloned cards?

Non-genuine products can cause considerable problems in a contactless system. They are less stable, have a shorter read range and can cause interruptions or disturbances in the service they provide. In short, failure rates are high. Your security may be seriously compromised – a serious message for organisations out there who depend on secure access control, such as schools, hospitals or government buildings.

What can you do to check if your cards are genuine?   

If you’re concerned that your Mifare cards may be clones, send one to us for testing, with no obligation.

If you’re dealing with significant numbers of Mifare cards, AdvanIDe has just launched the Mifare Classic clone checker kit, which detects whether the chip contained within your cards is authentic. The kit includes a NXP Semiconductor reader, as well as additional test cards and software. You can find more information on this here.

What are NXP doing about the problem?

REACT, the anti-counterfeiting network and NXP recently signed an agreement to stop unauthorised copies of NXP’s Mifare products. Within their first month, they have successfully removed over 4000 auctions that were attempting to sell the clones. NXP will not tolerate any infringement on its rights and will take all necessary action against those who sell or use their trademarks.

At the Card Network we only sell Mifare cards with genuine NXP chips. Search our range of printed Mifare cards here.  

Call one of our friendly team for advice on 0844 257 8857 or email sales@thecardnetwork.co.uk