The contactless technology is ideally suited for physical access control applications:
It is usable in harsh and dirty environments, exposed to climatic constraints and vandalism.
Transactions are fast and user friendly: they do not require the insertion of the card into the reader, there is no problem with the card orientation which may even be kept in a wallet during its use.
Depending upon the application type, the level of security can be simple (contactless tickets) or very high (contactless microprocessor smart cards).
Maintenance costs are reduced because there are no mechanical parts in the readers.

Furthermore, the contactless technology may coexist with other technologies on the same physical medium: most of the smartcard manufacturers offer dual-interface cards – contact and ISO 14443 contactless – that may support magnetic stripe, barcode and hologram.