Application of NFC technology in anti-counterfeiting traceability of precious metals

The anti-counterfeiting traceability solution for precious metals includes an app and NFC and RFID tags. Collectors and retailers can use smartphones to read NFC electronic tags on precious metals to prevent counterfeit goods, understand the market value of products and simplify the sales process.

precious metals

On July 1, 2020, precious metals investment company MintID provided a solution based on NFC technology to help retailers and collectors ensure the authenticity of the silver, gold coins or gold and silver products they buy and sell. The solution leverages MindID’s secure AES-128-bit encryption protocol and MintID’s own software platform and mobile apps for Android and iOS, using near field communication (NFC) chips.

The solution is designed to prevent counterfeiting by providing buyers with proof of authenticity of their purchase. NFC chips are built into any of the company’s precious metal products, allowing buyers to verify the authenticity of their purchases via the app. According to MintID founder Corey Maita, using an NFC-enabled smartphone to read the NFC chip on the purchased precious metal can obtain the product’s information, thereby verifying the product’s authenticity.

Retailer JM Bullion already sells MintID products with NFC authentication technology. For example, if a buyer purchased an American Gold Buffalo coin worth approximately $1,850, the coin would be permanently encapsulated in a card with a unique digital ID number, and the card's information would be accessible via an NFC-enabled smartphone. The company also plans to release an NFC solution for anti-counterfeiting and traceability of luxury goods called InstantlyID within the next month.

Buyers can identify product authenticity through APP and mobile phone NFC function

Maita co-founded a precious metals retail company in 2007 while in college, after which he became Vice President of Business Development at Spectrum Group. "One of the biggest concerns buyers have is, 'How do I know what I'm buying is authentic?' The reality is that despite the high value of the products being bought and sold, the supply chain information behind the goods is not transparent," he said. This means that counterfeit products are vulnerable because there is no supply chain tracking of precious metals.” MintID has successfully solved this problem by embedding NFC chips directly into the products they authenticate.

The company has looked into a variety of authentication solutions, such as QR codes, barcodes or holograms, but such solutions still cannot eliminate the possibility of fraud. NFC, on the other hand, allows for secure tracking of every MintID product using 128-bit encryption technology, which has been the U.S. government standard for protecting classified information since 2002.

The 13.56 MHz frequency RFID tag complies with the NFC ISO 14443 and high frequency ISO 15693 standards. They come in two versions: tamper-evident tags attached directly to gold and silver bars, and NFC Tags built into the paper cards in which the coins are packaged. Tamper-proof metal tags are metal-resistant, ensuring they can be recognized when applied to metal surfaces.

There is no doubt that this new anti-counterfeiting traceability solution for high-value products will soon become popular, because compared to the previous traditional anti-counterfeiting traceability solution, NFC technology has higher security, and with the use of RFID technology and NFC functions in smart devices With the widespread popularity of mobile phones, the cost and threshold for NFC technology application are also constantly decreasing. And this technology is constantly being combined with various commercial marketing activities, bursting out more ways to play.

RFID Jewelry anti-counterfeiting traceability tags

Compared with the popularization and application of mature RFID technology abroad, China is still in a stage of rapid development, and RFID technology is being accepted and used by more and more industries. Companies focusing on RFID technology hardware production and software solutions are also booming. Their RFID jewelry anti-counterfeiting traceability solutions have been highly recognized by the industry and customers. In the future, more excellent hardware technologies and software solutions will be applied in more applications. industry.