Smart Cards

ALSO CALLED: ID Cards, Smartcards, and Smart Media Cards
DEFINITION: A smart card is a plastic card about the size of a credit card, with an embedded microchip that can be loaded with data, used for telephone calling, electronic cash payments, and other applications, and then periodically refreshed for additional use. Currently or soon, you may be able to use a smart card to:Dial a connection on a mobile telephone and be charged on a per-call basisEstablish your identity  … 
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SMART CARDS DEFINITION (continued): …  when logging on to an Internet access provider or to an online bank Pay for parking at parking meters or to get on subways, trains, or busesGive hospitals or doctors personal data without filling out a formMake small purchases at electronic stores on the Web (a kind of cybercash)Buy gasoline at a gasoline stationOver a billion smart cards are already in use. Currently, Europe is the region where they are most used. Ovum, a research firm, predicts that 2.7 billion smart cards will be shipped annually by 2003. Another study forecasts a $26.5 billion market for recharging smart cards by 2005. … 
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