Along with the rapid growth of technology comes the increasing prevalence of electronic data theft. This emphasizes the need to secure electronic data, thus necessitating the integration of smart card technology into current IT infrastructures. Following this trend, the ACR38 Smart Card Reader Series combines sophisticated technology and modern design to meet stringent requirements in smart card-based applications, such as payment systems and electronic identification, where a high level of security has increasingly been deemed essential.

Being compliant with the CCID specification, the ACR38 Series offers a plug-and-play solution that eliminates the need for driver installation and driver-system compatibility assessment. Its USB interface facilitates communication between a computer and a smart card very easily, allowing for a seamless implementation of smart-card based applications in a PC environment.

ACR38 Smart Card Reader is compliant with ISO 7816 and EMV Level 1 specifications. It supports ISO 7816 Class A, B and C ( 5V, 3 V and 1.8 V) cards, including all microprocessor cards with T=0, and T=1 protocols, as well as most of the popular memory cards in the market.

ACR38 also offers an optional built-in Security Access Module (SAM) slot-ACR38U-SAM that supports various high security applications. It is also available in different casing designs, including the new ACR38U-I1 which is now FIPS 201 certified and TAA compliant. In addition, ACR38 also has an alternative reader  module form (ACM38)

• Supports ISO 7816 Class A, B and C (5 V, 3 V, 1.8 V) card
• Supports CAC (Common Access Card) *
• Supports PIV (Personal Identity Verification) Card*
• Supports microprocessor cards with T=0 or T=1 protocol
• Supports memory cards:
• Cards following the I2C bus protocol (free memory cards), including:
• Atmel: AT24C01 / 02 / 04 / 08 / 16 / 32 / 64 / 128 / 256 / 512 / 1024
• SGS-Thomson: ST14C02C, ST14C04C
• Gemplus: GFM1K, GFM2K, GFM4K, GFM8K
• Cards with intelligent 256 bytes EEPROM and write protect function, including: SLE4432, SLE4442, SLE5532, SLE5542 
• Cards with intelligent 1K bytes EEPROM and write-protect function, including: SLE4418, SLE4428, SLE5518, SLE5528
• Cards with '104' type of EEPROM non-reloadable token counter cards, including: SLE4406, SLE4436, SLE5536, SLE6636
• Cards with secure memory IC with password and authentication, including: AT88SC153, AT88SC1608
• Cards with Intelligent 416-Bit EEPROM with internal PIN check, including: SLE4404
• Cards with Security Logic with Application Zone, including: AT88SC101, AT88SC102, AT88SC1003
• Supports PPS (Protocol and Parameters Selection)
• Features Short Circuit Protection
• Application Programming Interface:
• Supports PC/SC
• Supports CT-API (through wrapper on top of PC/SC)