ISO/IEC 7816-3:2006 specifies the power and signal structures, and information exchange between an integrated circuit card and an interface device such as a terminal.

It also covers signal rates, voltage levels, current values, parity convention, operating procedure, transmission mechanisms and communication with the card.

It does not cover information and instruction content, such as identification of issuers and users, services and limits, security features, journaling and instruction definitions.