In Europe, most people have at least one or two on their person at all times. In the United States, they’re becoming more popular. Smart cards are credit card looking portable storage devices used in many applications.
These smart cards contain an 8 bit embedded microprocessor that not only stores data but also functions to communicate with a reader and does self encryption as a security technique. The cards can contain pages and pages of date or just contain one account number.
Smart cards were invented in the 1960s but weren’t used until the 1980s when they were marginally used as pre paid phone cards to pay for pay phone calls. It wasn’t until the 1990s and the rise in the popularity of mobile phones that smart cards really took off. Europe embraced the cards and used them widely for mobile phone uses. In a mobile phone, the smart card holds the subscriber’s account and phone numbers and allow a user to keep the same phone number and just use a different phone by simply swapping the card out.
But, smart card uses aren’t limited to mobile phones. Smart cards are widely used in the banking industry. Smart cards are used as credit cards, where a gold foiled chip contains the account information and is read by insertion into a reader or by simply proximity to the reader. Debit and ATM cards can also be smart cards.
The health care industry uses smart cards as well. In fact, every German citizen has a smart card. The health care coverage ID card in Germany is a smart card. Smart cards are also used in health care as ID badges for employees and to hold patient medical record charts for easy transportation.
Some other common uses of smart cards include loyalty card programs, identification, satellite television, and computer security systems.
