What is Smart card?
[[File:Rutoken lite smartcard.png|thumb|Smartcard with a reader]] A '''smart card''' is a [[card]] with a [[microchip]] in it. Such cards are used as a method of [[wikt:identification|identification]] and [[authentication]]. Plastic cards that allow to take out [[money]] from a [[automated teller machine]] (ATM) often are smart cards nowadays (Some of them still have a [[magnetic stripe card|magnetic stripe]] which holds the same information). Very often the user is identified with a [[Personal identification number|PIN]]. If the PIN is entered correctly, money can be withdrawn. If the PIN is not entered correctly, the card is blocked (after a number of false attempts). At first, smart cards were used in [[public telephone]]s in [[France]], in 1983. There, the card simply stored a pre-paid [[credit]]. This credit was reduced when calls were made. Another way to solve the problem is that the balance is stored in a remote [[database]]. To make calls, a (usually toll-free number) is first called. From there, additional calls can be made. This eliminates the need for cards with [[EMV|chips]] on them. Smart cards also have many other uses, such as for making [[payment]]s. These kinds of cards are used a lot in [[Japan]], [[Singapore]], and the [[Octopus card]] in [[Hong Kong]]. <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1017670467863232160|title=Will Octopus Smart Card Make Hong Kong a Cashless Society?|last=Ling|first=Connie|work=Wall Street Journal|date=2002-04-01|accessdate=2018-03-18|language=en-US}}</ref> ==Kinds== There are two basic kinds of smart cards: * Simple cards only contain [[computer memory|memory]] that can be read and written to. Examples of this model are phone cards, or cards for health insurance. All the processing of the data is done outside the cards * Complex cards contain an integrated microchip. In addition to being able to store data, they can also do some of the data processing. Unlike with the simple cards, there is generally no way to directly access the memory of the card.