Smartcards have been in the market for a few years, but the real growth has really started recently, together with the growth of internet and digital communications network. Many see the Smartcard as an important building block of the information society. As more an more transactions move from the real to the virtual world, the need for secure transactions, secure user identification and handling of personal user information is increasing. Smartcards gives a smart answer to this need, handling the processing and storage of personal information and identification on a small personal computer, which is able to be integrated into, or communicating with other computer. So the future of Smartcards are bright.
Smart cards are actually micro computers.
Smart cards are small enough to be stored in a wallet or a cellular phone. The memory capacity of smart cards are increasing, and there exist several smart card operating systems for the card to handle multiple applications in a secure manner. The only way to communicate with a smart card is through a defined interface. This implies that the card can be made very secure. Encryption mechanisms can be implemented on the card.