Indonesian smart cards apparently not that smart
Indonesian smart cards apparently not that smart
By T. Sima Gunawan
JAKARTA (JP): What do rich people have in their wallets or
purses? A lot of money, right? Wrong. They do not need to carry
much cash anymore because a credit card can take its place in
business transactions.
More and more people worldwide are using credit cards as they
provide greater convenience. However, soon credit cards alone
will not be enough.
Two of the world's largest credit card companies, Mastercard
and Visa, are planning to develop global smart cards, starting
with Australia. Visa will start issuing smart cards middle of
this year, followed by Mastercard at the end of the year.
A smart card will be embedded with a microchip, which will be
able to store a lot of information. More than a magnetic-strip
credit card, it will function as a debit card as well. In
addition, it will serve as a portable bank account which allows
the holder to deposit money on the card, which can be used to pay
small items now bought with cash.
Compared to the plain credit cards, smart cards are obviously
more secure.
"You can't duplicate smart cards," stressed Terry E. LeDell,
Senior Product Manager of DataCard, the world's leading plastic
card supplier.
Along with DataCard Vice President Woodrow J. Frost, he came
from their Minneapolis office last week to talk about the
technologies behind plastic cards. A number of both private and
government institutions attended the two-session presentation
organized by the DataCard distributor in Indonesia, PT Bauma
Smarti Teknika.
"Credit card forgeries in the United States alone inflict $1.6
billion a year in losses," LeDell told The Jakarta Post.
Smart cards are not for financial institutions only. In the
United States, chips are installed in health care cards and smart
cards are issued to replace food stamps.
"You can get information from a smart card, or give it
information. For example, my medical record can be stored in my
health care card, so if I go to a doctor, they can read all of my
past illnesses and medicine," LeDell said, adding that the
information can be updated anytime.
In the welfare program, the U.S. government has started using
smart cards to prevent the abuse of food stamps. "You can sell
food stamps and use the money to buy liquor. But since the
government put the benefit on chips, you have to go to a store
and buy food if you want to get the benefit. The cashier will
subtract the food you purchase from the card," LeDell said.
Educational institutions also use smart cards. The Florida
State University, for instance, has been using smart cards for
three years.
Everyone in the university has a card, which allows them to
use it as a credit card or debit card. It also has a bar code to
a lunch or dinner, as well as a magnetic stripe for access
control, according to LeDell.
The university is also able to trace the card holders and send
emergency messages.
"They can send the signal through the computer. So, when you
are trying to get through the door, there will be an emergency
message on the reader with the red light turned on. As you get
the message, you can contact the operator and they will tell you
what has happened, whether your dog has died or whether you
should call your Mom," LeDell explained.
The cards provide greater security. For example, if someone
gets through the front door, the reader will automatically
register it. If there is something missing in the locker room, it
will be easier to investigate the case because everyone who's
been there is recorded.
"Many colleges in the U.S. are using this to transcribe the
school records, the attendance and how much you pay for tuition.
Well, you can also put money in it to buy cokes or candy bars,"
LeDell said.
Not really smart
What about Indonesia?
There are at least three banks which have issued "smart"
cards. Bank Dharmala, Bank Surya Putra Perkasa and Bank Eksport
Import.
Bank Eksport Import has EximSmart, which was introduced in
1991. It is like an account book which records the card holder's
transaction with the bank. Also, it can be used as a debit card,
which is accepted in Pasar Raya Department Stores, Tomang Tol
Department Stores and Medika Loka Hospital.
The other smart card is Procard, first issued by Bank Dharmala
in 1993. As a debit card, it is accepted by about 50 merchants in
150 outlets in the city. Bank Surya Putra Perkasa has recently
joined Bank Dharmala in the issuance of the cards. This will be
followed by two other private banks, Modern Bank and Bank Sewu.
Procard holders can draw cash at an ATM. If they want to put
money on the cards, however, they should go to the bank.
Well, you might be disappointed because as a smart card,
Procard is not really smart. But in a way, Procard is a little
more advanced than several other bank cards, which can only be
used to withdraw cash. There is also a hope that as it gets
older, Procard will become smarter.
"We have a plan to improve the cards, so that in the future
card owners can put money on the card at an ATM," Inka, a Procard
marketing officer, said.
LeDell predicted that there will be a great increase in the
use of smart cards, as well as hologram cards, radio frequency
cards and proximity cards, mainly for security reasons. Radio
frequency cards and proximity cards do not need any physical
contact with the readers. Proximity cards will be effective as
entry cards to a building where hundreds of people go in and out.
Another sophisticated way to gain access through a door is by
eye scanning.
"They scan the retina in the eye. The blood vessels are
different for everybody, like a fingerprint, so they get a
different pattern for different people," LeDell said.
"They are working with a red laser, looking at the pattern of
your eye, that will become your ID," he added.
He said this method is very accurate, but people do not use it
a lot because they don't feel right having a laser scanning their
eyes.
Finger prints are also very accurate, but many people raise
objections to the storing of fingerprints on data base. "The
Civil Liberty Union in the United States is totally against
maintaining finger prints on data base," LeDell told the Post.
Hand geometry is less accurate than finger prints, as are
signatures.
"If you make a signature, you create a pattern on how you sign
your name. If, one day, you don't feel good and you don't sign
the same way, you will be denied access," he said.
Hand geometry cannot be totally accurate because when you gain
a lot of weight, the geometry can be a little different.
According to LeDell, voice is not accurate as an ID because
when people do not feel well, their voices might be different.
Types
In accordance with the development of technology, various
types of sophisticated cards are offered with more convenience
and security. Clearly, the cost is high.
"You can have this card for 25 cents," LeDell said, pointing
at a plain plastic company badge, "but this smart card, with a
chip that can keep 8,000 bits of memory, costs $10 apiece."
The access machines are available for hundreds of thousands of
dollar each.
LeDell said DataCard has over 90 banks worldwide, including
BCA and Citibank Indonesia, using their machines to do photos on
ID cards, and 40 customers who are doing driver's licenses,
health care cards, member cards, university ID cards and other
plastic cards for the government.
"The market for Indonesia is promising," he said.
However, LeDell said DataCard did not expect an instant
response from potential buyers, especially the government.
"We just want to give the information that the technology is
out there," he said.
High technology allows the issuance of secured plastic cards
with various features such as security printing, security inks or
optical variable, according to DataCard vice president, Frost.
An intricately interwoven pattern, like the one printed in
currency, is an example of security printing. There are also
micro printing, difficult to detect with the unaided eye, rainbow
printing, which allows one color to merge into another, and
latent image, which appears only when viewed at a certain angle.
A commonly used security ink is one which is only seen under
ultraviolet light.
An optically variable device can also be used to change the
appearance of an image when viewed at a different angle.
"When you rotate the card at 90 degrees, you will see a
completely different image," Frost said.
A thorough consideration should be made to select which
security features will be applied on the cards, depending on the
necessity, he suggested. Periodic evaluations will also be
required, to assure security.
"There is no guarantee that a product which is secure today
will be secure in the future," he said.
Not only the customers, but plastic card producers need to
improve their products because there is always somebody out there
trying to break the security.