John and Doves,It seems that the smart card will become the universal ID card, which can allow for information to be added to the microprocessor chip embedded in the card. A quick way for the System to be updated at all times on its citizenry.

Jim Goodrick
 

Microprocessor ID card -- HANIS

by 2009, more than 100-million smart cards will be in active use in South Africa.

The report focuses on what are known as "memory cards" and "microprocessor cards", which are in effect plastic cards containing a small microchip.

Memory cards allow only for the storage of data,

whereas microprocessor cards allow for information to be added, deleted or manipulated.

Both types are also known as chip cards, thanks to the computer chip embedded in the card.

The single biggest smart card project this country will see, however, will be the new
Home Affairs National Identification System, known as Hanis,
which will require the replacement of identity documents with around 30-million smart cards --
one for every eligible South African -- during the same five-year period.

The reason for the explosion in smart card usage is simple: It is more secure than any other identification technology that is economically viable and available, can contain updateable information ranging from personal details to fingerprints to identification photos, and is far less prone to forgery than existing systems.

Contact cards and contactless smart cards dictate what kind of card reader has to be in use, since contact cards must be inserted into a reader, or swiped, while contactless cards only have to be passed near the reader."

Contactless cards have both a microchip and an antenna embedded in the card, which allows for it to be detected at a small distance by the reader.
 

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