1. Smart card developments and applications

1.1 The evolution of smart cards

• As early as 1967, the use of an electronic component with memory in a credit card was the subject of reflection in the USA, Japan and Europe, as witnessed by the numerous patents that paved the way for the smart card. Among the pioneers were the Americans Pomeroy (1967), Ellingboe (1970), Castrucci (1971), Halpern (1972), the Japanese Arimura (1970), and the French Moreno (1974), Ugon (1977) and Guillou (1979). Most of these patents did not lead to immediate realization, as they often anticipated available techniques.

• In France, Cll-Honeywell-Bull devoted considerable research resources, from 1975 onwards, to defining component architecture and finding ways of producing...