What is Smart Card
A smart card stores information on an integrated
microprocessor chip located within it.
There are two types of smart cards.
Contact smart cards must be inserted into a smart card reader. They have a small gold plate about ½" in diameter on the
front. When the card is inserted into a smart card reader, it makes contact with electrical connectors that transfer data to and from the chip.
Contact less smart cards are passed near an antenna to carry out a transaction. They look just like plastic credit cards, except that they have an electronic microchip and an antenna embedded inside. These components allow the card to communicate
with an antenna / coupler unit without a physical contact. Contact less cards are the ideal solution when transactions must be processed very quickly, as in mass-transit or toll collection activities.
Another
type of classification of smartcards is intelligent and Memory.
An "intelligent" smart card contains a central
processing unit -- a CPU-- that actually has the ability to store and secure
information, and "make decisions," as required by the card issuer's specific
applications needs. Because intelligent cards offer a "read/write" capability,
new information can be added and processed. For example, monetary value can be
added and decremented as a particular application might require.
The second type of card is often called a memory card. Memory cards are
primarily information storage cards that contain stored value which the
user can "spend" in a pay phone, retail, vending or related transaction.
The intelligence of the integrated circuit chip in both types of cards allows
them to protect the information being stored from damage or theft. For this
reason, smart cards are much more secure than magnetic stripe cards, which
carry information on the outside of the card and can be easily copied. Smart cards
are an effective way of ensuring secure access to open interactive systems,
such as encryption key mobility, secure single sign-ons and electronic
digital signatures.
While it is anticipated that smart card technology applications in North America will
continue to grow quickly, and in the not too distant future approach European
acceptance levels there are two key issues that must be addressed.
Before wide-scale, public usage is possible, the public and private sectors must reach
a consensus on creating a technological standard that can be adopted for use by
consumers and merchants everywhere. Second, industry and government players face
the challenge of charting a technology migration path that will allow smart card
technology to co-exist with established technology investments, such as magnetic
stripe technology.
In fact, card technology experts predict the development of so-called hybrid cards.
Such cards may contain not only an embedded microprocessor chip or memory module,
but also a magnetic stripe and bar coding. Thus, a single card can access different hardware
systems, such as merchant card readers, ATM machines and bar code applications. Adding
the card-holder's photograph, printed name and signature would further enhance the
hybrid card's already significant security features.
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