The Upgrade Story of Campus IC Cards: From "Meal Cards" to "Campus All-in-One Cards"!

Do you still remember that IC card in school that could only be used to pay in the cafeteria? Nowadays, it has long evolved into a campus "magic card" that "lets you go anywhere" - entering and exiting through access control, borrowing books from the library, shopping in the supermarket, booking the gym... and even paying for water and electricity in dormitories, all can be done with a "beep"! Behind this is the magnificent upgrade of the campus IC card from a "basic function card" to a "smart campus hub". Zhanfeng Smart Card, as a partner of many universities, has witnessed this transformation. Today, let's talk about: how did the campus IC card "counterattack"?

1. In the past: One card = "meal card + access control card" (single function)

Early campus IC cards (mostly low-frequency M1 cards) mainly met students' basic consumption needs—eating in the cafeteria, buying water at the canteen, and occasionally handling dormitory access control. However, the problems were obvious:

❌ Scattered functions: A separate library card is used for borrowing books from the library, another card needs to be applied for to enter the gym, and the hot water card has to be recharged separately

❌ Low security: Low-frequency cards are easy to copy, and once lost, they are prone to fraudulent use

❌ Management troubles: Students carry three or four cards in their pockets. If they lose one, they spend a long time looking for it, and it's also troublesome for teachers to manage.

2. Now: "One card in hand, everything on campus is available" (interconnection of multiple scenarios)

With the advancement of smart campus construction, campus IC cards have been fully upgraded - high-frequency IC cards (such as CPU cards) or CPU chip cards have become the mainstream, paired with a unified management platform to achieve "one card for all scenarios":

- Basic necessity: more convenient dining consumption

Canteen POS machines, supermarket cash registers, water room card readers... All consumption terminals are connected to the Internet. One card can deduct fees in real time, and it can also be bound to the parents' mobile app, allowing them to check consumption records at any time (no longer need to worry about children spending money randomly).

- Safety Management: "Precise Control" of Dormitory Access Control

Important areas such as dormitory buildings, laboratories, and libraries are managed through hierarchical IC card authorization (for example, new students can only enter their own dormitory building, while graduate students can additionally activate laboratory access permissions). After a card is lost, it can be reported as lost with one click in the background to avoid the risk of fraudulent use.

- Study life: The "one-card access" for book borrowing activities

Borrowing and returning books in the library, booking venues in the gymnasium, timing the use of piano rooms... all are recorded with the same card. It can also count students' activity data (such as the number of borrowings, exercise duration) to assist in teaching management.

- Extended functions: water and electricity bill payment + campus bus

Some universities have also integrated functions such as deduction of dormitory water and electricity fees (with automatic reminders for excess usage), swiping campus cards to take on-campus shuttle buses, and even interoperability with urban public transport cards (you can directly swipe your campus card to take the subway when going home on vacation!).

3. the key to upgrading: the "tripartite cooperation" of chips + systems + card bodies

The "counterattack" of campus IC cards is inseparable from three major upgrades:

• Smarter chips: Upgraded from low-frequency M1 cards (easy to copy) to high-frequency IC cards or CPU cards (strong encryption, each card has a unique key, almost unbreakable);  

• More unified systems: The school deploys a smart campus management platform, connecting all subsystems such as canteens, access control, and libraries, with real-time data synchronization;  

• More durable card bodies: Using PET or thickened PVC substrates (waterproof and wear-resistant), with a film added to the printing layer (scratch-resistant), suitable for high-frequency usage scenarios by students.

4. Zhanfeng Smart Card: Providing a "One-Card" Solution for Campuses

As an intelligent card supplier serving over 200 universities nationwide, Zhanfeng understands the special needs of campus scenarios - the upgrade solutions we provide include:

✅ Chip customization: Based on the school's security level, high-frequency IC cards or CPU cards (anti-copying, anti-loss) are recommended;

✅ Multi-scenario compatibility: The card body is pre-set with multiple functional partitions, compatible with different terminals such as access control, consumption, and borrowing;

✅ Durable design: PET base material + waterproof coating + wear-resistant printing, which can withstand students' dropping and soaking;

✅ Long-term service: From card production to system docking and after-sales maintenance, we follow up the whole process, and can respond quickly even during the peak period of the school opening season.

Conclusion: A campus card holds all the possibilities of youth.

From "only for meals" to "one card for everything", the upgrade of campus IC cards is not only a technological advancement but also a microcosm of the convenience of campus life. Zhanfeng Smart Cards, with 18 years of industry experience, provides schools with "safe + durable + smart" card solutions, making every campus card a "master key" for students' campus life — after all, a good campus card should make students forget its existence (because it's just so easy to use!).