Top three benefits of smart cards!

by Nancy Lee Marketeer

What is a smart card?

A smart card is a pocket size plastic card with a built in microprocessor. Smart cards are usually used to perform financial transactions. They may look like an ordinary card with magnetic strip at the back but they use a different technology. Many consumer ads have been used to show the basic difference between smart cards and other debit/credit cards. But mostly ads have portrayed smart cards are JUST safer than others. Today we’ll talk about how smart cards are not only safe but are better than other cards.

Benefits:

1. Persistent & protected storage.

Persistent storage is one of the greatest benefit of the smart card. Though it’s nothing new when compared to an ordinary magnetic strip card, but the major difference is in the memory a smart card can store. Smart cards usually have memory ranging from 4K to 32K. This is a lot more memory when compared to magnetic strip card. But the real deal is the protection smart cards offer! Unlike debit and credit cards, in a smart card you can't just wipe the card against a reader and expect to pull everything off it. This is why you’ll see ads calling smart card safer than other magnetic strip cards.

2. Processing power.

As mentioned above smart cards have a built in processor, this allows the smart cards to do things and not just store data in the card. The CPU in the smart card protects the stored information and that’s why when you use it the smart card would require you to insert the pin before you can access any information. But the real game changer is the fact that CPU of the smart card can count, Enter an incorrect pin 5 or 7 times and chances are your card may restrict you from using it for several hours or days. Other smart cards can get blocked too or may just wipe off the information if an incorrect pin is entered to many times. If that happens the only way to retrieve your card is to call a customer support number to unblock it.

Other than that smart cards can also sign on your behalf for example. When smart cards are used with X.509 digital certificates for applications such as VPN or Windows 2000 authentication, the private key part of the public/private key pair linked to the certificate never leaves the card. The private key is generated by a random number generator on the card, and when data needs to be signed with the private key, the card does the signing.

3. Utility

Today smart cards are used in a wide range of devices for different purposes. They were originally modeled on credit cards in terms of usage and shape. Today many banks issue a combination of smart/credit cards to customer because of the safety it provides. Other than that smart cards are also used in GSM cellphones, but they are smaller in size as they are cut down to a size little larger than the familiar multipad connector to fit the small handsets. Because of their utility you’ll see contactless smart card reader available in the market, smart card readers are now available for PCMCIA, serial and USB connectors on personal computers.

With the continuous changing trends in today’s world. Technology has evolved and smart cards are a proof of that. Smart cards are a safer alternative to make transactions and store data now, and that third world countries are adopting to it. The day is not far when every citizen of every country would be using a smart card for making transactions and doing other stuff.

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