Calypso vs. FeliCa
Comparing 2 standards across 12 specifications. 11 key differences identified.
Calypso is an open international contactless electronic ticketing standard managed by the Calypso Networks Association, operating under ISO/IEC 14443 Type B (and Type A). Developed by European transit operators to prevent proprietary lock-in with NXP MIFARE, it powers major transit networks including the Paris Navigo, Lisbon Viva, and Belgium MoBIB.
FeliCa (Fast Electronic Card) is a contactless RFID smart card technology developed by Sony, standardized under JIS X 6319-4 and ISO/IEC 18092 (NFC Type 3). Operating at 13.56 MHz with 212/424 kbps Manchester encoding, it is engineered for ultra-fast sub-100ms transit gate transactions like Suica, Pasmo, and Octopus.
Specification Comparison Table
12 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Frequency Bands
|
13.56 MHz | 13.56 MHz |
|
Framing Standard
|
ISO/IEC 14443 Type B (and Type A in Calypso Prime) | — |
|
Standardization Body
|
Calypso Networks Association (CNA) / EN 1545 / ISO 24014 | — |
|
Cryptographic Engine
|
Triple DES / AES-128 / Elliptic Curve PKI (Calypso Prime) | — |
|
Operating Architecture
|
Multi-application secure microprocessor (Java Card / Native OS) | — |
|
Primary Transit Deployments
|
Paris (Navigo), Brussels/Belgium (MoBIB), Lisbon (Viva), Venice, Tel Aviv (Rav-Kav) | — |
|
National / International Standard
|
— | JIS X 6319-4 / ISO/IEC 18092 (NFC-F) |
|
NFC Forum Classification
|
— | Type 3 Tag |
|
Data Transfer Rates
|
— | 212 and 424 kbps |
|
Modulation Scheme
|
— | Manchester Coding (10% ASK) |
|
Transaction Processing Speed
|
— | < 100 ms |
|
Security Algorithms
|
— | AES-128 / DES / 3DES (FeliCa Standard) |