Abstract: An access system includes a portable pouch and an access unit. The pouch has an inserted electronic card, a card receive module and a send/receive module. The access unit is assigned to a transit region of the zone and has a send/receive unit for a communication with the send/receive module of the pouch. To provide access, the tag is transmitted to the send/receive unit of the access unit when the pouch is within range of the send/receive unit. If the tag received by the send/receive unit matches a stored tag, an unblocking signal for providing access to the zone is generated. A signal detector of the pouch detects an electromagnetic field generated by a send unit arranged in the transit region, and information transmitted by the electromagnetic field is processed. A bidirectional communication between the send/receive unit of the access unit and the send/receive module of the pouch is initiated.