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What is a Smartcard?
The Smartcard chip can store large amounts of data securely in both read only and read/write formats giving the user the ability to safely add and remove data from their card as required. The Smartcard chip is contained within a 'gold button' or module, which is embedded into the card as shown in figure 1 (below) 
Figure 1: An example of Smartcard Module components and embedding into the card The gold button provides a simple and reliable physical interface to external devices via individual contacts at the surface of the gold button. These contacts are connected within the module via fine wires to the interface pads located on the Smartcard Chip. The Smartcard chip can therefore be accessed from a wide variety of devices such as Auto Teller Machines, hand held terminals, PC card readers and even key-fob sized readers. The physical interface complies with a worldwide standard: ISO 7816. The chip itself can take many forms, from the most simple circuit or memory only device providing limited functionality, to a highly sophisticated 'micro controller', with the ability to perform a large variety of highly complex instructions and mathematical calculations, therefore providing a high degree of security and functionality. The major components of a typical Smartcard are the CPU (the 'brain' of the chip), the memory (for data storage) and the interface pads (providing access to and control of the chip). The memory can take many forms but basically is configured to allow secure storage and updating of data. The example in figure 2 (below) shows a memory configuration of Random Access Memory (RAM - read and write capable), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM - read and write capable), and Read Only Memory (ROM - read capable). Today's Smartcard chips can store in excess of 100K bytes of data and with the rapid advances in silicon technology, this capacity is growing at a ferocious rate. 
Figure 2: example of the major components of a typical Smartcard chip Smartcards fall into two major categories of operation. The 'single application' card contains one piece of code written to provide one functional application (for example a mobile telephone subscriber card application), which is typically stored in the ROM of the chip. This application controls the access and operation of the card via instructions that the application can understand. The 'multi-application' card contains a chip operating system with the ability to have more than one application on the card (for example, a credit card application and a supermarket loyalty application). The multi-application OS will also allow adding and removing of applications, allowing the functionality of the card to be changed after the card has been issued. Many Smartcard chips have integrated co-processors that are specifically designed to execute extremely complex mathematical calculations such as those required for the encryption of data for secure transfer and authentication. A co-processor is a stand alone computer chip designed for specific functionality, which is then integrated into an existing chip such as a Smartcard chip, to add it's functionality to the overall single chip. Such Smartcards provide levels of security that are ideal in the processing of transactions, where the protection of the cardholders details is of paramount importance. Smartcard technology has also advanced to facilitate communication between the Smartcard and the card reader without the need to insert the card to gain physical contact i.e. contactless transactions. Such Smartcards are ideally suited to applications where the transaction time is of critical importance, for example, mass transportation systems and access control. Contactless technology also reduces wear-out of card reader hardware since there is no physical contact between card and reader. Smartcards now also exist with the ability to facilitate both contact and contactless transactions within the one card. Such Smartcards are known as 'Dual Interface' Smartcards. The concept of a Smartcard is not a new one. Smartcards have been in circulation since the late 1970's and are a well-proven technology. Early use of Smartcard technology was demonstrated in 1979 within the French Banking market, where several million Smartcards were introduced to replace existing magnetic stripe cards for the 'Carte Bancaire' application. Upon their introduction, Smartcard technology virtually reduced fraud to zero. Smartcards have also been an integral part of the GSM mobile telephone for several years, where they are used as Subscriber Identity Modules or SIM Cards. With the introduction of true Multi-Application Smartcards, Cryptographic coprocessors, the contactless interface and the ever increasing capacity of the chip memory, Smartcards have now reached the point where they can provide a level of functionality and security to facilitate the growing needs of today's consumer and business applications, while maintaining portability in a card which can be stored in your wallet or pocket. The vision of the Smartcard as the 'PC in Your Pocket' is truly being realised. An example of the use of Smartcard technology in today's market is in the emerging electronic commerce market. The e-commerce market offers new levels of convenience and service to every day consumers and is currently experiencing a huge market expansion. However, for the market to realise its full potential, consumer confidence in the security of e-commerce transactions has to be increased significantly. Potential e-commerce consumers have many concerns, such as the safety of releasing personal information and account details over the World Wide Web and the consequences should such information fall into the wrong hands. Smartcard technology offers many practical solutions to resolve such issues. With the ability to securely store and update information on board the card, the Smartcard provides an ideal platform for the safe management of the cardholder's details (such as account information). It is in effect the consumer's own secure personal database. The processing power of the card also makes it possible to introduce levels of authentication that are simply not possible with magnetic stripe technology. Various cardholder authentication methods such as passwords, PIN, digital photograph or Biometric (e.g. fingerprint) schemes can easily be supported. Such levels of secure authentication are particularly relevant in the e-commerce world, where a consumer has to ensure that they are buying products or services from a genuine vendor as opposed to providing details to a fraudulent web site. Smartcards allow the consumer to control release of information contained on the card while also controlling who receives the information. Conversely, it is just as important for the vendor to ensure that the cardholder is not making use of a stolen card to make their purchase. Added to all of the above is the ability to modify the card services (even while on line) giving the consumer the power to pick and choose the features of their own Smartcard as required. This makes the Smartcard a clear choice for the e-Commerce market. Smartcards provide great opportunities for businesses as well as consumers. With the introduction of greater and more flexible card functionality, businesses can differentiate themselves through improved Customer Relationship Management. Smartcard technology allows effective card holder profiling giving the ability to furnish consumers with new products and features which best suit their lifestyle, while providing the business and/or card issuer with valuable information on customer habits. So whether you are a merchant selling products over the World Wide Web or a consumer who wishes to buy such products, the Smartcard is enabling the implementation of solutions that consumers and businesses can use with confidence. As Smartcard Technology continues to advance, it won't be long before we are all carrying our own Smartcard, the uses for which will only be limited by the imagination. More specific information is available in our Documents section.
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