If 40 million Frenchmen aren't there, that's their problem. The safety of electronic cash cards is a question raging among computer security experts around the world, especially after word went out recently on the Internet that the Mondex computer chip had been cracked. However, Mondex International denies that the security of their chip has been compromised and insists that the smart cards are a safe and convenient alternative to cash. Unlike bank, credit and debit cards, Mondex cards are almost like cash because customers load value on to them and this electronic sum can be spent at stores, pay phones and restaurants. Bank verification over phone lines is not needed.
Customers can even exchange E-cash between themselves from one card to another.
This cuts down on infrastructure costs for authorization but means security must be confined to the microchip embedded in the card.