Java Card Forum

The Java Card Forum is an industry association of companies from the smart card, secure operating system and secure silicon industry, working together to promote and develop Java as the preferred programming language for multi-application smart cards, secure devices and other execution environments.

Tag Archives: cryptography


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Why Java Card is used by ST in their next generation payment solution

STMicroelectronics has unveiled STPay-Topaz-2, its next-generation contactless payment card system on chip (SoC). With Java Card providing the engine for critical aspects including multi-application coexistence, payment logic, and security, the new SoC’s arrival is a major advancement for the card industry and consumers. There is more flexibility to support a wider variety of payment brands, while a new auto-tuning feature ensures reader-independent connection quality for an enhanced user experience. In addition, advanced cryptography strengthens security and prepares the platform for upcoming, stronger industry standards.

ST has already supplied more than three billion STPay ready-to-use solutions to the payment market. STPay-Topaz-2 now introduces a specific feature which allows preloading the greatest quantity of payment applets per orderable part number in the market, which simplifies inventory management for card manufacturers. This innovation includes a unique product versioning which embeds the latest and most popular payment applets worldwide, including both VSDC2.8.1g1 and 2.9.2 Visa applets.

“Contactless payment has been a huge hit with consumers and the technology must now move forward as card suppliers strive to meet growing customer demand and more diverse market requirements,” said Bruno Batut, Banking & ID Business Unit Marketing Director, Connected Security Division, STMicroelectronics. “STPay-Topaz-2 can consolidate the largest set of payment apps on one orderable part number to simplify inventory management for card manufacturers, paving the way for further expansion in contactless payment popularity. We’ve also added auto-tuning to ensure the best tap-anywhere user experience and upgraded security ready for future standards including the forthcoming EMVCo C-8 kernel.”

The STPay-Topaz-2 is based on the ST31R480 secure microcontroller (MCU), manufactured in ST’s secure and certified facilities in France. The secure MCU achieved EMVCo certification in November 2024 and recently completed Common Criteria EAL6+ certification.

This STPay solution is ready for the payment industry’s adoption of stronger digital security, ranging from RSA/3DES encryption to advanced encryption standard (AES) and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC): it is designed to comply with the forthcoming EMVCo C 8 kernel. The platform also meets GlobalPlatform and Java Card standards, making it suitable for payments, loyalty programs, and custom applications.

With enhanced wireless performance, STPay-Topaz-2 also simplifies antenna integration for card manufacturers and enables efficient connectivity even with smaller antennas, providing greater design flexibility.

STPay-Topaz-2 samples are available immediately, with production already launched.

For pricing and sample requests, contact your local STMicroelectronics sales office.

Please visit https://www.st.com/en/secure-mcus/banking-id-transport.html for more information or watch this video: https://youtu.be/3FzpA4KIgdY


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Java Card Forum celebrates its collaboration with ISO/IEC/JTC1/SC17

As the Java Card Forum celebrates its 25th Anniversary, it acknowledges the collaboration with ISO/IEC/JTC1/SC17 and looks ahead to future opportunities

A lot has been achieved over 25 years and Java Card is the leading platform for secure elements with billions of devices issued each year. Founded in 1997, the Java Card Forum has been the key environment for defining and developing Java Card technology, through constant interaction between Java Card vendors and Oracle (owner of the specification and Java Card technology).

What brought Java Card to the fore in the late 90s is interoperability of the applications running on the smart cards, at a time where interoperability was a pain point for SIM cards, as well as a means to install and host several applications concurrently, even post issuance. Moreover, Java Card offered a strong, secure environment for applications, and was quickly able to address major markets where the highest possible level of security is required, such as SIM cards, payment cards, passports or identity cards. All this was recognised rapidly by the market, and the number of Java Cards in 2004, seven years after the Java Card Forum was created, was already reaching a Billion smart cards per year. Now the number has risen to over 6 Billion per year.

The Java Card Forum and ISO/IEC/JTC1/SC17

SC17 is the committee in ISO/IEC/JTC1 that deals with identification and its related documents (e.g. electronic passports), cards, security devices and tokens, and also standardizes the interfaces associated with their use in inter-industry applications and international interchange. The committee has published over 115 standards which build the base and the backbone for any secure application based on identification. The ISO/IEC 7816 series is, for example, the basis for any smartcard operating system.

Java Card and its specification follows the standards of SC17, that allows their usage in all inter-industry applications. The flexibility of the Java Card operating system allows manufacturers and customers to use one implementation of a compliant smartcard operating system with many independent applications – the implementation of applications is separated from the implementation of the operating system. With this approach, Java Card enhances SC17 standards without contradiction and becomes a major stakeholder for existing and future standards.

Future Opportunities

Some traditional applications, such as identity cards, although present with a bright future, are also increasingly being deployed onto the mobile phone or wearable devices, such as connected watches. In these devices, Java Card is now running on the soldered embedded secure element, or even integrated onto the system-on-chip. This motivates us to work on new features, such as new communications channels and protocols, improved power management with, for example, the support of suspend and resume, as well as new memory management capabilities or the ability to communicate with sensors, such as fingerprint readers, directly from the Java Card applet.

In addition, cryptographic agility is also a big item on the Java Card Forum agenda, initially to address the support of post-quantum cryptography, but more generally to make sure the security can be updated post-issuance should the need arise.

SC17 and Java Card Forum have had a fruitful, long-lasting partnership and liaison and will continue to inform each other about new developments, features and requirements.

Article by Jean-Daniel Aussel, President of the Java Card Forum and Werner Ness, Business Committee, Java Card Forum