The Smart Card Alliance Contactlessand Mobile Payments Council yesterday introduced new tools for merchants accepting or thinking about accepting contactless and mobile payments. Merchants can now access a model to calculate return on investment (ROI) for accepting contactless payments, as well as an online discussion forum to interact with and ask industry experts questions and post comments about contactless and mobile payments.
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What makes forgery of the smart card impossible has been accomplished through electronic enciphering techniques, says Mustafa Ba?ak. The system contains a mechanism to detect and fix corruptions in its memory cells, and keys for coding and decoding are totally separated.

The nationwide introduction of “smart” identity cards is expected by 2010 with the aim of providing a more multipurpose card and increasing the safety of personal data.
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Visa Black Card

First it was American Express’ Centurion, a rare and mysterious card that the super-wealthy considered to be the ultimate status symbol. Its ridiculous perks—a credit limit high enough to buy a small island, and a reputation strong enough to get holders into the most elite of establishments–are outweighed by equally ridiculous requirements, namely, invite-only applications to people who spend more than $250,000 annually on their other American Express cards, and an annual fee of $2,500.

Now Barclays Bank has caught on. The VISA Black card, a carbon graphite edifice of spending power, was recently released to butt gold-plated heads with the Centurion. The annual fee is a piddling $495, meaning that the card may attract more lowbrow aspects of the 1% of the US population that is its market.

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