In Europe, paying for something with a credit card might mean tapping the card on a reader. Transferring health records might not require bulky files, but a small card. Smart card technology is much more popular in Europe than in the United States. Europeans use smart card technology for identification purposes, banking applications, health care uses and for mobile phones, just to name a few areas.
A smart card looks much like a typical credit card but is completely different on the inside. It has a chip that’s an embedded microprocessor. The processor is found under a gold contact pad on one side of the card. This microprocessor is used instead of the magnetic strip to transfer information from the card. But, the chips contain much more information than a typical credit card.
In Europe, smart cards are so common that every German citizen carries one for a universal health care card. Smart cards have been in use in Europe for over a decade. The reason for the popularity in Europe is that the typical magnetic strip technology in the United States is something that can easily be hacked and used for unlawful reasons. In the United States, computer technology developed to protect the readers, but this technology never developed in Europe as widely. Europeans embraced the smart card technology.
Some of the specific uses of smart cards in Europe include: government identification, satellite television, banking, loyalty cards (like frequent shopper’s cards), wireless systems and of course credit cards.
Europeans embraced smart card technology where it’s wide spread to this day. The technology has been around more than a decade and is starting to spread to the United States. Europeans have used smart cards in credit cards and other cards for years. The cards allow information to be transferred securely and quickly.
