In your pocket: smartcards

The worldwide boom in smartcard deployment is accelerating their evolution. What can be found in a typical wallet?, In all likelihood, bills and coins, a variety of credit cards, a driver's license, a transit pass, a voter registration card, a library card, a video rental card, insurance cards, frequent flyer and car rental cards, a telephone charge card. By the end of the century, all of these documents might be replaced by just two or three smartcards. Because they can store and protect relatively large amounts of data, smartcards are being used in a number of ways around the world, replacing a wallet's contents bit by bit. Stored value cards were in place last year (1996) in Atlanta, Ga., at Olympic venues, standing in for coins and bills. A health card identifying the holder's insurance provider and account number has been issued to every citizen of Germany, and plans are in place to add such medical information as the name of the holder's doctor, blood type, allergic reactions, medications, next of kin, and instructions in case of emergency. Smart social security cards in Spain interface with a kiosk system that can provide updated information on benefits and eligibility, as well as pertinent job opportunities. Today, most smartcards handle a single application, but will realize their true value when a single card can address multiple applications.