FeliCa is a contactless

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...

smart card A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

system from

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, primarily used in

electronic money Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital cu ...

cards. The name stands for ''Felicity Card''. First utilized in the

Octopus card The Octopus card ( zh, t=, j=baat3 daat6 tung1, is a reusable Contactless payment, contactless stored value smart card for making Electronic money, electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong. Launched in September 1997 to ...

system in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, the technology is used in a variety of cards also in countries such as

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Technology

FeliCa's

encryption In Cryptography law, cryptography, encryption (more specifically, Code, encoding) is the process of transforming information in a way that, ideally, only authorized parties can decode. This process converts the original representation of the inf ...

key is dynamically generated each time mutual

authentication Authentication (from ''authentikos'', "real, genuine", from αὐθέντης ''authentes'', "author") is the act of proving an Logical assertion, assertion, such as the Digital identity, identity of a computer system user. In contrast with iden ...

is performed, preventing fraud such as impersonation. FeliCa is externally powered, i.e. it does not need a battery to operate. The card uses power supplied from the special FeliCa card reader when the card comes in range. When the data transfer is complete, the reader will stop the supply of power. FeliCa was proposed for

ISO/IEC 14443 ISO/IEC 14443 ''Identification cards – Contactless integrated circuit cards – Proximity cards'' is an international standard that defines proximity cards used for identification, and the transmission protocols for communicating with it. The ...

Type C but was rejected. However, ISO/IEC 18092 (

Near Field Communication Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the boots ...

) uses some similar modulation methods. It uses Manchester coding at 212 kbit/s in the 13.56 MHz range. A proximity of 10 centimeters or less is required for communication. FeliCa complies with JIS: X6319-4: Specification of implementation for integrated circuit(s) cards - Part 4: High speed proximity cards. The standard is regulated b
JICSAP
(Japan IC Card System Application Council). Th
UK IT security evaluation and certification scheme
provides more detail as to the internal architecture of the FeliCa card (RC-S860). FeliCa IC card (hardware) and its operating system has obtained ISO15408

Evaluation Assurance Level The Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL1 through EAL7) of an IT product or system is a numerical grade assigned following the completion of a Common Criteria security evaluation, an international standard in effect since 1999. The increasing assurance ...

4 (EAL4), a standard which indicates the security level of information technology and consumer products. FeliCa is also included as a condition of the NFC Forum Specification Compliance. A new version of FeliCa IC chip was announced in June 2011 and had enhanced security adopting the

Advanced Encryption Standard The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), also known by its original name Rijndael (), is a specification for the encryption of electronic data established by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001. AES is a variant ...

(AES) encryption. Sony claimed the next generation chip would have a higher performance, reliability and lower power consumption. The newest generation of the technology was announced by Sony in 2020, which introduced higher levels of encryption and additional security options to meet market needs.

Reliability

FeliCa supports simultaneous access of up to 8 blocks (1 block is 16 octets). If an IC card is moved outside of the power-supplied area during the session, the FeliCa card automatically discards incomplete data to restore the previous state.

Mobile FeliCa

Mobile FeliCa is a modification of FeliCa for use in mobile phones by FeliCa Networks

a subsidiary company of both NTT DoCoMo and

. DoCoMo has developed a wallet phone concept based on Mobile FeliCa and has developed a wide network of partnerships and business models. au and SoftBank (former Vodafone Japan) have also licensed mobile FeliCa from FeliCa Networks. The system (literal translation: "wallet-phone") was developed by NTT DoCoMo, and introduced in July 2004 and later licensed to Vodafone and au, which introduced the product in their own mobile phone ranges under the same name. Using Osaifu-Keitai, multiple FeliCa systems (such as Suica and Edy) can be accessed from a single mobile phone. On January 28, 2006, au introduced Mobile Suica which is used primarily on the railway networks owned by

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

. On September 7, 2016, Apple announced

Apple Pay Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. Supported on iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro, Apple Pay digitizes and can replace a credit or debi ...

now features FeliCa technology. Users who purchased

iPhone 7 The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are smartphones that were developed and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the List of iPhone models, tenth generation of the iPhone. They were announced on September 7, 2016, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium i ...

or Apple Watch Series 2 in Japan can now add Suica cards into their Apple Pay wallets and tap their devices just like regular Suica cards. Users can either transfer the balance from a physical Suica card to the Apple Pay wallet, or create a virtual Suica card in the wallet from the

application. On September 12, 2017, Apple announced new

iPhone 8 The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are smartphones developed and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the eleventh generation of the iPhone. The iPhone 8 was released on September 22, 2017, succeeding the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, respectively. T ...

iPhone X The iPhone X (Roman numerals, Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten") is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the List of iPhone models, 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from September 26, 2 ...

, and Apple Watch Series 3 models featuring "Global FeliCa", i.e. NFC-F and licensed FeliCa middleware incorporated in all devices sold worldwide, not just ones sold in Japan. On October 9, 2018, Google announced that its latest

Pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a Raster graphics, raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, p ...

device, the Pixel 3, would support FeliCa in models purchased in Japan. This feature enables support for WAON, Suica, and various other FeliCa-based services through Google Pay and the Osaifu-Keitai system. Successor models including the 3a and 4 have the same support of Mobile Felica in Japan-sold models.

Consumer reader/writer devices

Sony has built a FeliCa reader/writer known as "FeliCa Port" into their

VAIO is a Japanese personal computer manufacturer headquartered in Azumino, Nagano, Azumino, Nagano Prefecture. It is owned by Nojima Corporation. Vaio began as a brand of Sony, introduced in 1996, until it offloaded it into an independent company ...

PC line. Using the device, FeliCa cards can be used over the Internet for shopping and charging FeliCa cards. An external USB FeliCa PC reader/writer has been released as well, called PaSoRi. It is USB-powered and allows one to perform online transactions and top up

EZ-link The EZ-Link card is a rechargeable contactless smart card and electronic money system that is primarily used as a payment method for public transport such as bus and rail lines in Singapore. A standard EZ-Link card is a ISO/IEC 7810, credit-ca ...

cards in Singapore with credit cards or

debit cards A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card, is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The card usually consists of the bank's name, a card number, the cardholder's name, and an expiration date, on either ...

anywhere, as long as there is direct access to the Internet. The Sony PaSoRi Reader is not compatible with the new ez-link cards.

Card usage

* United States University Campuses ''(in collaboration with Blackboard Inc.)'' *

* Shenzhen TransCard,

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(defunct; however, Hu Tong Xing uses FeliCa) * Unified Automatic Fare Collection Scheme completed by Q4 2009,

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

(until 2009) *

Airport Rail Link An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport between an airport and a nearby city. Direct links operate straight from the airport terminal to the city, while other links require an intermediate use of a people mover or ...

(Bangkok),

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

*Bangladesh: ** Rapid Pass, a multipurpose payment card for public transport. ** SPASS card, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation,

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, Bangladesh. *

: ** Multi-Trip Card (KMT), KRL Commuterline Greater Jakarta and Surakarta-Yogyakarta ** Dompetku D-Tap, Indosat Ooredoo ** Jelajah (e-Ticket), Jakarta MRT ** Jak Lingko, integrated card for

Transjakarta Transjakarta (stylised in all-lowercase, often erroneously called Busway, sometimes shortened as TJ and branded as TiJe) or Jakarta BRT is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first BRT system in Southeast Asia, it commenc ...

, Jakarta MRT, KRL Commuterline Jakarta, Jakarta LRT, and Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link *

: The system is ''de facto'' standard in Japan. **

Electronic money Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital cu ...

mobile payment Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cas ...

: *** Edy, Rakuten Edy *** , NTT Docomo (also deployed to a limited degree in

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

and

) *** nanaco, Seven & I Holdings Co. ***

Osaifu Keitai , which means "Wallet Mobile", is the standard mobile payment system in Japan. Osaifu-Keitai services include electronic money, identity document, identity card, Loyalty program, loyalty card, fare collection of public transits (including railway ...

*** ,

Japan Credit Bureau , formerly Japan Credit Bureau, is a credit card company based in Tokyo, Japan. History Japan Credit Bureau was founded in 1961 by Sanwa Bank (now MUFG Bank) and Nippon Shinpan (now Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS), as the country's second credit car ...

*** WAON, AEON Group **

Public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

payment: (Some can be used as electronic money as well.) *** Major cards: **** Hayakaken, Fukuoka City Subway **** ICOCA,

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

**** Kitaca, JR Hokkaidō **** Manaca,

Meitetsu , publicly trading as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the '' Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of w ...

, public transportation in

Tōkai region The is a subregion of the Chūbu region and Kansai region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes. Because Tōkai is a sub-region and is not officially classified, there is ...

(includes Nagoya) **** nimoca, railways and buses in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

**** PASMO, railways and buses in

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

(includes Tokyo) ****

PiTaPa PiTaPa () is a contactless smart card ticketing and electronic money system used predominantly the Kansai region of Japan. The name ''PiTaPa'' from "Postpay IC for Touch and Pay". In the Osaka area, PiTaPa is usable on the Osaka Municipal Subw ...

, railways and buses in

Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...

**** SUGOCA, JR Kyūshū **** Suica,

**** TOICA,

JR Central is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...

*** ''See the table below for other cards.''

Integrated services in Japan

As FeliCa is the ''de facto'' smart card ticketing system standard in Japan, many of these cards have integrated services. A particular region/operator may accept multiple cards. The table below shows the integrated services FeliCa cards have for each Japanese region. :A: The area accepts all functions of the card, including electronic money function. (There may be subtle differences between each area.) :B: The area accepts basic functions of the card, but not some functions such as electronic money or auto recharging. :''A'': The area will introduce the new card in the future. :''F'': The area will accept the card in future. :A few cards can be used as electronic money in some unmarked areas. :¹: In many cases, there are multiple operators accepting the same card in the same area. See each card article for the full listing.

Notes

External links

Official homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felica Sony products Contactless smart cards NTT Docomo Japanese inventions