Smart credit cards: The answer to cashless shopping: Pioneered in France, microprocessor-based credit and debit cards are being used in large-scale tests in three cities there

You walk over to a special pay phone in a large airport, insert your electronic-communication services card, and enter your password. The telephone acknowledges that a central computer has validated your identity by flashing a service menu on the luminescent screen. You choose from “Local directories,” “Long-distance directories,” “Personal directory,” “Rates,” “Place call,“ and “Information services.“ You press the number for “Personal directory,” and the screen changes to a numbered listing of a dozen names and telephone numbers drawn from your card's memory. You punch in 9 for a certain friend's number, and the screen dissolves into a pricing and payment schedule: TOLL CALL. 75 cents for the first three minutes, 10 cents each additional minute.