According to NXP, MIFARE Plus enables system integrators to add additional security features and functionality into existing MIFARE applications, such as public transport ticketing, road tolling, loyalty cards, closed loop micro payment and access management in the public and private sector.

Launched in 2003, Turkey’s contactless highway toll collection system covers 1800 kilometres of motorways and bridges, and carries in excess of 150 million vehicles annually. As long-standing users of MIFARE technology, the highway toll operator embarked on a project on January 1, 2010 to migrate the contactless smart card program to a MIFARE Plus-based system.

The systems integrator driving the project, Aselsan, will conduct a phased approach and gradually turn on the various security features enabled by the reader infrastructure upgrade plan. The respective card and prelam production as well as programming services are being provided by SMARTRAC and Plastkart.

MIFARE Plus technology features 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and supports migration from existing MIFARE Classic implementations. The contactless microcontroller IC offers an upgrade path for system integrators and operators wishing to implement additional layers of security to their automatic fare collection, access management and micro-payment installations.

In addition, the product has received Common Criteria EAL 4+ certification by the German Federal Office for Information Security, and has undergone thorough security and privacy assessment by the Universities of Bochum and Leuven.