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.
Features of a smart
card:
• Smart cards can provide identification,
authentication, data storage and application processing. Smart cards may
provide strong security authentication for single sign-on (SSO) within large
organizations.
• Smart cards serve as credit or ATM
cards, fuel cards, mobile phone SIMs, authorization cards for pay television,
household utility pre-payment cards, high-security identification and
access-control cards, and public transport and public phone payment cards.
• Smart cards may also be used as
electronic wallets. The smart card chip can be "loaded" with funds to
pay parking meters, vending machines or merchants. Cryptographic protocols
protect the exchange of money between the smart card and the machine. No connection
to a bank is needed. The holder of the card may use it even if not the owner.
• A smart card contains more information
than a magnetic stripe card and it can be programmed for different
applications. Some cards can contain programming and data to support multiple
applications and some can be updated to add new applications after they are
issued. Smart cards can be designed to be inserted into a slot and read by a
special reader or to be read at a distance, such as at a toll booth. Cards can
be disposable (as at a trade-show) or reloadable (for most applications).