Despite the hype about smartcards, few implementations extend beyond phone calls. Banks in The Netherlands are changing that, however, rolling out the largest initiative anywhere in the world. Since last fall, Dutch banks have issued more than 4 million cards equipped with a chipknip, Dutch for "electronic purse." Now, banking giant Postbank is getting in on the act.
Postbank's Chipper platform functions like a normal debit card but can also store cash on an embedded chip. Short on guilders? Upload some more at a public pay phone by inserting the card in a reader and dialing up your bank.
Shops, parking meters, and public transportation are gearing up to accept the cards. And eventually, readers will be installed in all phones and PCs for Net commerce. Unused capacity on the chip could hold medical information and telephone numbers, or be used by a vendor to store coupons and the like.
About 20,000 businesses now accept the cards. But with Postbank's plunge, the concept is poised to really take off, probably just in time to make another switch - this time to the euro.
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