A Smartcard is similar to a credit card with a magnetic strip, but contains more information and can be programmed for different applications, and can be updated to add new applications after they are issued. Smart cards come either with just memory chip, which are just storage devices and can not process information, or with processing abilities.
Combo cards have a single ship with both contact and connectionless interfaces.
At this time, over a billion smart cards are in use, primarily in Europe. The use of Smart Cards in Europe received its initial boost from the French government in 1985 when it purchased 16 million cards for use by its then state-owned bank. Each unique code number is issued by a bank. The anonymous aspect of Digital Cash is one of the key differences between digital cash and credit card systems. While standards are not yet established, most digital cash systems start with a participating bank that issues unique code numbers that carry a given value, such as five dollars.