What is Smart Card?
| Smart Cards |
|
Smart cards, sometimes called chip cards, contain a computer chip embedded in the plastic. Where a typical credit card's magnetic stripe can hold only a few dozen characters, smart cards are now available with 16K of memory. When read by a special terminals, the cards can perform a number of functions or access data stored in the chip. These cards can be used as cash cards or as acredit card with a preset credit limit, or used as ID card with stored-in passwords. While fairly common in Europe, the United States has been slower to embrace them -- Americans are happy with their ATMs and POS terminals, so merchants haven't seen the need to make the expensive switch to smart card terminals. |
Beginner's Help
BUG Club Home
