It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
Unit 5, Chapter 17: Your Future With Technology, Page 228
SMART CARDS:
While most people are familiar with credit cards and electronic banking cards, few may be aware of the existence of a SMART card, a plastic card with a silicon chip for storing information. The chip within the card stores such data as your current account balance, credit history, and even medical information for emergencies.
A SMART card has the potential to take the place of money and checks because each transaction is recorded on the chip as it occurs. Everytime a purchase is made, the amount of the transaction would be deducted from the balance in your smart card account.
The card would also serve as a personal record keeper for travel and other expenses. In addition, a SMART card can be used to prove you paid for merchandise you want to exchange, to gain admittance to your place of work, or to unlock and start your car without keys.
Unit 8, Chapter 27: Using Checks and Other Payment Methods, Page 371
YOUR ELECTRONIC WALLET IN THE 21st CENTURY:
Remember when most people's wallets bulged with cash, credit cards, blank checks, an ATM card, a driver's license, a medical insurance card, a company identification card, a phone card, and receipts? Technology now makes it possible for you to have all of these items in a single device.
A programmed access card, somewhat like the SMART card discussed in Chapter 17, would make it possible to activate business transactions and store data about financial and personal matters. You would be able to make "cash" purchases as well as buy on credit. You will have with you at all times an account of your driving record, medical insurace coverage, and employment documentation.
When you return to your home computer, your card will allow you to display or print a record of your spending during the day. Your programmed access card would eliminate the need for coins. Newspapers, soft drinks, and other inexpensive items could be bought with a swipe of your card through a computer terminal. Several fast food restaurants and bus companies already offer this service. In the future, when you think your wallet might be empty, you won't know for sure until you check your balance at the nearest computer terminal!