Many-in-one Smart Card

It is normal for many people to carry stack of credit cards bulking up the size of the wallet making it fit to burst. A new technology is now being developed that could help cut the number of cards cluttering up your wallet by allowing you to access multiple credit card accounts on a single card. To enhance security, the technology also allows the credit card number that appears on the front of a card to be hidden until the correct code is entered. The technology includes the world’s first fully card-programmable ‘Electronic Stripe’ in place of the traditional magnetic stripe. While the Electronic Stripe can be read at any existing point-of-sale (POS) magnetic stripe reader, it also allows any bit of information stored on the programmable stripe to be changed at any time using the card itself. The device is as thin, flexible and durable as current credit cards and will last over three years on a single battery charge.

In a recent exhibition of smart cards, two such cards were on display. The first was a card that includes two buttons on the face to select the desired account. When one of the buttons alongside the two printed account numbers is pressed, a small light next to chosen account number lights up and the magnetic-stripe information associated with the selected card is written to the Electronic Stripe, ready to be swiped at any magnetic card reader. The second card on show was a device that includes five buttons on the face of the card and a paper-thin flexible display that hides a portion of the card number. Since there is no personal information stored on the Electronic Stripe and the card number is incomplete, the card is essentially useless if it is lost or stolen.

To turn the card on, a user must enter a PIN number that unlocks the card, with the flexible display then revealing the full card number. Again, the relevant magnetic-stripe information is then written to the Electronic Stripe so it can be used with a magnetic stripe reader. After a period of time, the display turns itself off and the Electronic Stripe erases itself, removing all critical payment information from the surface of the card.