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Smart Cards and EBT
Potential Applications in the Public Sector
"Smart cards," or plastic, credit-card sized cards containing a computer chip with memory and processing capabilities, are being investigated by many public sector managers as a means to deliver government services and information. They may first be used for government benefit programs, such as food stamps or the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC), a nutritional supplement program. Smart cards are commonly used in Europe as a substitute for cash transactions, especially in the use of public telephones, vending machines, toll roads, and public transportation. Presented below are some possible uses of smart cards by public sector agencies in the United States.
Benefits delivery
Smart cards may replace magnetic stripe cards, or be combined with magnetic stripe technology (so-called "hybrid" cards), to deliver benefits through participating retail stores or government agency offices. The most common form of benefit delivery is for the card to be used as a benefits "debit" card, drawing down a client's benefits account with each use.
Medical Records
Smart cards are capable of storing a citizen's medical history, a useful means of carrying important information for emergencies and to facilitate medical service between institutions and over time.
Identity
Smart cards can contain several different technologies for nearly foolproof identification, including encrypted digital signatures, "biometric" identification such as fingerprint imaging, and digital photos of the bearer of the card.
Access
Smart cards can be used to grant access to buildings, as a form of a "ticket" to events, or to provide access to computer resources, such as Internet terminals. Smart cards might be used by parks officials, for example, to allow access to parks, with great flexibility in the kind of access allowed for each card.
Licenses and Portable Information
Smart cards can store information, so they can be used for storing information about licenses, for example. Game wardens could put hunting licenses on smart cards. Such technology is already under investigation for use as a driver's license in some states: it could store the traffic citation records of drivers, as well as other information. Smart cards may soon be used to carry one's résumé, or even a portfolio of work, to be downloaded to an employer's smart card reader.
Integration
Individual smart cards can be used for all of the above purposes, providing a single card for multiple uses. For example, college and university campuses have begun to issue smart cards to students, cards which can be used for identification, as a form of cash for certain school-related transactions, as access to events and to campus computers, and so on.
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