Social cards in the Russian Federation are issued to all persons entitled to benefits. One card the size of a bank card allows you to replace many documents that would otherwise have to be kept with you to confirm such rights. And sometimes a social card additionally replaces a bank card.
Most often, pensioners have to see social cards, but they are also issued to disabled people, students and any other persons who have the right to receive benefits in one volume or another. In all cases, it is a radio frequency identifier (RFID) of the widespread MIFARE standard. This makes it compatible with readers installed, for example, in vehicles. Unlike contactless tickets, the social card is not made of thick paper, but plastic. Thanks to this, it is quite durable.
There is no power source in the card, as in any other device of the MIFARE standard. The radio wave energy from the reader, received by the loop antenna of the device, is enough to start the tiny microprocessor of the card, and then cause it to generate and transmit a response.
The microprocessor has a built-in ROM that stores information about the cardholder, which benefits are available to him and which are not, as well as when the card needs to be replaced with a new one. When the device is brought to the reader, for example, on a bus, the validator will read the information stored in it and determine whether the user has the right to free travel in this city. And if it does, a command to enter the salon will be sent to the turnstile.
Some social card holders are eligible for discounts when shopping at grocery stores. Usually this discount is provided only in the first half of the day, and it is often enough for the seller to simply present the card.
There is a magnetic stripe on the back of the social card. It is needed for compatibility with ATMs that are not equipped with RFID readers. This allows the user, instead of two cards (social and bank), to carry one that combines both functions. And if the numbers of certificates of pension and health insurance are also recorded in the memory of the microprocessor, in most institutions of the corresponding profiles the social card can replace these documents with itself.
