Passports go digital
The US passport is joining the digital age. After three years of research and discussion, the State Department has finalised most of the technical and logistical details of new, supposedly tamper-proof passports, embedded with a "smart-card" chip, USA Today reports.
If current plans hold, they`ll become standard issue for US travellers as soon as February.
Proponents say the chip, which will contain the holder`s personal data and digital photo, should allow speedier entry at borders for most travellers.
Contactless credit cards
A Chicago credit-card manufacturer is poised to cash in on an emerging trend in transactions - "contactless" credit cards that consumers simply wave in front of readers to make quick purchases under $25, reports Chicago Sun-Times.
"The credit-card industry is conducting a war on cash," says Rome Jette, vice-president of smart cards at Versatile Card Technology. "It wants to handle what had been cash purchases as part of its growth strategy."
Versatile Card Technology, the world`s largest manufacturer of credit cards, is gearing up to make bullets for this war: contactless credit cards that contain radio frequency ID chips.
New Thai ID cards planned
Thailand`s Information and Communications Technology Ministry and the Interior Ministry have started drawing up terms of reference for a new batch of smart ID cards expected to go in circulation in the next five years.
According to the Bangkok Post, Deputy ICT Permanent Secretary Thananuch Tritipayabutra told the House ICT committee that the new terms of reference would address shortcomings in the original specifications.
She was referring to the current 12 million smart cards which have still not been approved by a three-party regulatory body.
"Based on a review of the data, design and cost, it would be affordable and more technically sound for the ministry to distribute new cards to replace the ones awaiting approval before the 10-year sell-by date," she said. The new cards could also include increased memory capacity, an essential requirement for the next generation of cards.
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