Japan's Finance Ministry plans to implement electronic cash by 1998. Next year, commuters in Hong Kong could hop on any form of public transportation using a smart card developed by Sony and Mitsubishi. In a few years, residents in the farthest reaches of Indonesia may be paying with smart cards if major local banks implement their plans. Singapore banks are combining a stored-value CashCard with functions customized for tourists, students, civil servants and soldiers. Certain problems need to be solved.
Smart cards cost as much as ten times more than mag-stripes.
Merchants and service providers have to sign up for smart tech before consumers follow. Users will need time to learn how to use the cards properly. But some complained of malfunction. The Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority promised to look into the problem, but added that drivers may have affixed the tags incorrectly. Still, as people get accustomed to innovation, the lead time between a new development and its acceptance shrinks.