Published: 28 August 2000
ID: G0089817
Analyst(s): Ellen P. Walsh
A smart card resembles a conventional credit card, with an electronic semiconductor chip capable of storing and transmitting data on a computer level. There is no hard drive or monitor between a smart card and the person using it, only a square piece of plastic with an embedded piece of silicon fused to an operating system (OS). The OS supports application schemes that enable communication with a card terminal. Current technology can support more than one scheme, resulting in what is now referred to as multiapplication cards. There are a number of players in the chip card arena, such as card manufacturers, OS developers, scheme developers, scheme operators, card personalization vendors, and systems integrators.
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