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What are proximity cards?
In a nutshell, proximity cards are contactless cards that can be read without the need of a physical reader device. They’re part of contactless card technologies and usually produce a type of sound – likely a beep, to indicate that it’s being read.
While proximity cards can look like a standard ID card or even a debit card, you can also find proximity cards that are key fobs, stickers and more.
How do proximity cards work?
Proximity cards come with a small metallic antenna coil that’s embedded within the card. This coil allows the card to emit a 125 kHz radio frequency field that is communicated to the reader. This whole process is known as a resonant energy transfer.
Once you’ve presented the card to the reader, the card will produce a unique number string that’s verified by the system. Just as long as the system has that unique number string within the list of approved numbers, the control panel will proceed to unlock the door.
What can you use a proximity card for?
You can use proximity cards for plenty, but here are the three main uses:
1. Security
While you could use a regular traditional lock and key, it can be cloned whereas proximity cards won’t be able to be cloned easily. With proximity cards, they are all assigned a unique access number so these can’t be duplicated. With that, it eliminates the risk of any duplication and prevents unauthorised access.
2. Individual Access
Proximity cards are great if you want to keep track of who’s coming in and out as you’ll be able to create an automated sign in system every time the card is used. With that, you can see who’s coming in and out of a certain access point and even what time they’ve used it. This can make tracking employee access much simpler and also more secure.
3. Tiered Access
If you want to include tiered access within your organisation, you can do so with proximity cards. This means that you can program and assign access to the cards only to certain areas. This is extremely helpful as you won’t have to go through an extensive key cutting or colour coding process, and it’s also much easier to track.
Investing in proximity cards
If you’re looking for something that’s much more secure than a regular key or ID card, you can’t go wrong with proximity cards. Not only are they effective, but they’re also easy to use and are great for both security and keeping track of different accesses.
