"One Card to Rule Them All..." Not?

R. A. Hettinga rah at shipwright.com
Wed Feb 6 12:11:02 EST 2002


http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/2002/2/06/smartcard.htm




02/05/2002 - Updated 08:53 PM ET


One smart card for all your debts

By Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY

The annual Demo conference that kicks off in Phoenix next week may be the
most influential high-tech gabfest you've probably never heard of. But Demo
is very much on the radar screen of technology luminaries across the
spectrum - executives, financial analysts, venture capitalists and the
press.

No wonder. Demo has been the launching pad for everything from E*Trade to
the PalmPilot. And though most of the 66 new products and services are
being kept under wraps until the conference opens Sunday, this year's event
will flaunt advances in battery technology and computer displays, along
with new features for Microsoft's Tablet PC. I'll elaborate on the
goings-on at Demo in next week's column.

But for now, here's a sneak peek at one new technology that will surely
appeal to anyone whose wallet bulges from carrying too many credit cards: A
San Francisco company called PrivaSys will demonstrate a battery-powered
electronic credit card with an internal chip capable of holding, say, an
American Express, MasterCard and Visa - plus your debit cards, gas cards
and all other accounts - on a single piece of plastic identical in size and
shape to your other cards. Of course, PrivaSys is quick to point out that a
whole lot of complicated industry association issues must be dealt with
before each of the various financial institutions could appear on such a
card. (PrivaSys has struck a deal with First Data, the largest credit card
processor.) Merchants, by the way, need not change point-of-sale magnetic
stripe terminals.

For security purposes, whenever a consumer wants to conduct a transaction,
he or she punches in a PIN directly on the card's built-in keypad,
generating a code unique to the sale. The plastic includes a 10- to
16-digit readout for displaying credit card information and to let folks
select the appropriate charge account to use at the store - you push arrow
keys on the keypad to scroll through the list of accounts held on the card.
The cards also will be able to store "loyalty" account info, allowing
instant coupons and other rewards, perhaps a free soft drink in a fast-food
restaurant or an upgrade to first class when seats are available. An icon
on the card's readout may light up when you earn such an award.


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-- 
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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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