Contactless Smart Cards vs. EPC Gen 2 RFID Tags

The latest issue of Smart Card Talk, the newsletter of the Smart Card Alliance, has an article about the differences between the contactless smart cards being used for payment applicaitons and EPC Gen 2 RFID tags being used in supply chain management applications. "The RFID technologies that are used to add value in manufacturing, shipping and object-related tracking operate over long ranges (e.g., 25 feet), were designed for that purpose alone and have minimal built-in support for security and privacy. Contactless smart cards, on the other hand, use RF technology, but, by design, operate at a short range (less than 4 inches) and can support the equivalent security capabilities of a contact smart card chip."