A contactless smart card is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits that can process and store data, and communicate with a terminal via radio waves. There are two broad categories of contactless smart cards. Memory cards contain non-volatile memory storage components and perhaps some specific security logic.

Contactless smart cards do not contain an ordinary read-only RFID, but they do contain a rewritable smart card microchip that can be transcribed via radio waves.

SMART ID card printer has a contactless smart card encoder inside of the printer and encodes various types of contactless smart cards such as ISO 14443, ISO 15693, Mifare, etc.