Smart card

Smart card

A plastic card containing important data about a person's identity to allow access to a network or premises. Also, a card containing subscriber information, often inserted into GSM phones for roaming in different countries. (Cingular)

A credit card-like device capable of storing and transferring information regarding the card's user to data devices and to data networks. Smart Cards come in several forms and have different uses, e.g., a SIM card is a form of Smart Card. The other important use of Smart Cards is as extra secure credit cards to enable secure online transactions from mobile devices. Unlike a standard credit card that uses just a magnetic strip to store information, a Smart Card has a tiny processor, file system and memory - which means greater security for e-commerce transactions. Typically, this type of Smart Card is issued by a bank. (Motorola)