MIFARE

NXP Simplifies Deployment of Trusted Contactless Services with New MIFARE DESFire Light IC 5. February 2019

MIFARE DESFire contactless IC family comes with pre-defined file structure, designed for single application use cases

NXP’s MIFARE® DESFire® family is used for fast and secure data transmissions, and event operators, for example at CES 2017, as well as transit agencies, loyalty program providers and stadium owners worldwide have been using MIFARE DESFire to build reliable, contactless systems.

With the new MIFARE DESFire Light IC, developers now have an easier, cost-effective way to deploy secure contactless services. The IC is a lightweight version of the MIFARE DESFire family and uses a pre-defined file structure to simplify the introduction of single-application contactless services.

The new approach lets developers move quickly to support a single contactless application, such as closed-loop micropayments, a loyalty program, public transport, or access management. Developers can then complement their services to support additional applications, as needed, by the inherent up-wards compatibility with MIFARE DESFire EV2 – to create true Smart City experiences.

A Lightweight, Flexible Entry Point
MIFARE DESFire Light gives system operators a way to protect their long-term investments while also evolving their systems to offer new services, support new trends, and keep pace with consumer expectations for convenience and privacy. As an upwardly scalable solution for complementing secure contactless services, it opens the door to the Internet of Services.

MIFARE DESFire Light includes 640 Bytes of total available memory (the same as the legacy MIFARE Classic product with 1 kB) and offers high-level protection for a single application. The setup supports up to five AES 128-bit keys, for secure management of access rights, and supports secure messaging for data and privacy protection.

The IC can also be scaled to different form factors supporting banking cards, mobile devices, and wearables, as part of the growing end-user trend of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). For broad-based compatibility, the MIFARE DESFire Light product can be configured as an NFC Forum NFC Type Tag 4, so it’s ready to use with the widest range of mobile devices equipped with contactless reading capabilities.

More Options for Added Memory
Services that run on the MIFARE DESFire IC platform now have even more options for expansion of functionality, since NXP is releasing new memory options for MIFARE DESFire EV2. The new, high-memory versions of MIFARE DESFire EV2 are equipped with either 16 or 32 kB of memory, so developers can enhance their applications to deliver even more compelling functionality on one device.

Join us for the MIFARE DESFire webinar on February 19, 2019

25 Years Strong
The two most recent announcements for MIFARE DESFire – that is, the introduction of MIFARE DESFire Light and the expanded memory versions of MIFARE DESFire EV2 – underpin the market demand of MIFARE products and are part of NXP’s ongoing celebration of MIFARE’s 25th anniversary.