Websigner FAQs

The Gemalto PKI PIN Pad is a dedicated smart card reader designed and maintained by Thales Digital Identity and Security. The reader comply will the following specifications and standards:

-          ISO 7816 Parts 2 & 3 smart cards

-          PSCS 2.0 Part10: Secure PIN Entry

The Gemalto PKI PIN Pad reader is designed to enforce secure PIN Entry to ensure increased security level for BACS transactions.

The Gemalto PKI PIN Pad readers are supported in combination with Gemalto eSigner and Web Signer only on computers running supported versions of Windows and MacOS. Please consult the release notes of Gemalto eSigner and/or Gemalto Web Signer for detailed support matrix

No, Gemalto PKI PIN Pad or Gemalto eSigner/ Gemalto Web Signer are not supported on Linux based operating systems. Currently there are no plans for any offer to support of eSigner, Web Signer or Gemalto PKI PIN Pad on Linux based operating systems.

The smart card interface of the Gemalto PKI PIN Pad is a sliding ISO 7816-Compliant contact with 3V Smart Card power supply support and support support T=0 and T=1 protocol

The reader is equipped with a sensor to detect card insertion/removal.

Gemalto PKI PIN Pad is equipped with a 1,77’’ TFT color display with a 160 x 128 pixels Resolution Backlighted display and offers 36mm x 28mm visible area.

Gemalto PKI PIN Pad is equipped with USB type C connector and a USB type C  <-> USB type A (USB 2.0 full-speed interface) cable is included in the package together with the reader.

Gemalto PKI PIN Pad reader has no battery. The power is supplied to the reader via the USB interface. It requires the USB cable of the device to be connected to a platform that has its own power supply or battery.

When the reader is connected and no smart card is slotted in the reader, a card insertion symbol is shown until a card is inserted.

The Gemalto PKI PIN Pad has built in timeout whilst as a connected device, the purpose is not for power saving, but due to security reasons.

These timeouts may happen if a long period of inactivity is detected whilst a user input is requested. For instance:

-          During a PIN code seizing, when entering digits or OK / Cancel validation is expected,

-          During a Message display, when entering OK / Cancel is expected.

The timeout defined in the firmware of the reader is set to 60 seconds. When a timeout happens, it simply cancels the current operation, which must be resumed from the start if needed.

Gemalto PKI PIN Pad readers support ISO-8859-15 (also known as ISO-Latin-9) as character table supporting most Western European languages.

The test menu can be accessed by pressing the key ‘5’ while inserting a smartcard in the reader slot. The reader FW version is then displayed on the screen, and the [OK] button can be pressed subsequently to display the list of the available test options:

1. LCD To test the segments in the display.

2. Keyboard To test the keyboard function.

3. Smart Card Tests the card communication.

4. Reader info Displays the firmware version and the unconnected function configuration.

A press on the key [1], [2]… is expected by the reader to launch the corresponding test in the list.