Credit Cards and Technology

Welcome to the SmartCard website! There’s some relief for anyone who is nervous when it comes to theft of credit cards more than the credit limit going into overdrive. A recent announcement made by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority about the replacement of magnetic cards and credit cards amounting to 20 million, and 2,900 ATM terminals will begin in 2012. Current technology is open to identity theft which involves stealing credit card information to siphon off a victim’s money. Replacing credits cards with magnetic strips with chip-based credit cards is a new technology fraudsters will find difficult to take advantage of. Since ATM booths will be upgraded in line with the improvements of card technology, this is another obstacle fraudsters will need to overcome.

Some credit card users may say stolen credit cards are not a very big problem. After all, once a credit card is stolen it is possible to cancel any payment transactions. This is only true if the card is regularly monitored by the user for payments. What about virtual credit cards? Virtual credit cards are known to provide better protection when using it on the internet. The real difference between virtual cards and regular credit cards is that a virtual card needs to be charged before it is used. They function mostly as pre-paid cards. While fraudsters can obtain credit card information, they have fewer options when it comes to stealing money or making unlimited transactions. A regular credit card can be charged thousands of dollars. On the other hand, a virtual card can only be charged for the amount it has funds available for. However, credit card users are constantly reminded to check their bills regularly, whether they have engaged in credit card activity or not.

As stated in this article, smart cards are becoming the latest trend in credit cards to take over the card industry. A smart card is a chip card which contains a computer chip embedded inside it, either a microprocessor or memory chip, to store information and transaction details. Smart cards can be used in key applications such as banking, healthcare, transportation and entertainment. Markets that have used machine card technologies like magnetic stripe and barcodes are also turning their attention to smart cards for its safety and security benefits. Smart cards were first introduced nearly 30 years ago in Europe, where they debuted as a tool to reduce theft in payphones. In the United States, chip cards are frequently used whether one is visiting the library, buying groceries or attending movies.

You may wonder why smart cards? Chip cards improve the security and convenience of any transaction. They make certain that user identity and account identity are kept from being tampered with. Smart card systems are more reliable than machine readable cards such as barcode and magnetic stripe type cards. Smart cards are known to protect against careless storage, security threats and even sophisticated system hacks. The cost to reset passwords to an enterprise or organization is very high, which makes using a smart card a more cost effective solution.