ABSTRACT
The vast majority of Integrated Circuit Cards (ICCs) in use are telephone cards, which are relatively simple devices having limited functionality and security. Microprocessor-based ICCs used as financial transaction cards can be thought of as a personal computer within a card, although obviously there are major differences in memory and input/output functionality. The French banks initiated the first major ICC implementation of supporting debit transactions. Most financial ICCs currently support one of these applications. With an ideal biometrics system, the problem of lost, stolen, or non-received cards and account take-over would be eliminated. Thus, a stolen card can be prevented from executing additional transactions in ICC mode. Historical forms of authentication rely upon card attributes, which are supposed to be inspected at the point of sale. For financial transactions, it is only necessary to determine that the person presenting the card is, with a high level of assurance, the true cardholder.
