This Smarty Turns Pc Into Cash Dispenser

Computer, give me $20 bucks.Such a demand enters the realm of possibility with the introduction on Monday of a device that turns a personal computer into an automated-teller machine capable of dispensing card-based electronic cash, marking a new step in PC-based home banking.

Fischer International Systems Corp said its $60 device can be inserted into the floppy disk drive of any PC, enabling it to read smart cards, a new type of plastic credit-card that can perform electronic cash transactions and store bank account balances.

Already gaining popularity in Europe to pay for store purchases and streetside telephone calls, the smart card is beginning to take hold in the United States as a replacement for cash used in ordinary purchases like grocery shopping.

 

By enabling PCs to securely dispense money, the device may provide a major stimulus to home banking by empowering consumers to perform financial transactions that now require a visit to a bank branch or an automated teller machine.

Whats been missing is a low-cost, easy-to-use bridge between smart cards and personal computers, Fischer President and Chief Executive Michael Battaglia said.

Smarty, as the product is known, is a slim piece of hardware that inserts into a personal computers 3.5 inch floppy disk reader, allowing the machine to link via the Internet to banks or retail outlets.

The product is unique because Fischer holds key patents for smart card readers inserted into 3.5 inch floppy drives making Smarty the most readily adaptable card reader for the 200 million personal computers now in use, company officials said.

The device, which can be inserted into home or office personal computers or into a laptop computer when travelling, will enable consumers to make wider use of banking cards for purchases, replacing the need to carry loose bills and coins.

As such, the product could be a boon to PC-based home banking, permitting full-scale transactions instead of the more limited functions now available, like electronic balancing of chequebooks, financial investment tracking or tax return filing.

Burton said the PC-based Smarty product will be offered later this year to consumers participating in a trial of smart card technology on the Upper West Side of New York City by a group led by MasterCard, Citibank and Chase Manhattan Bank.

In addition, Fischer said it has received initial Smarty orders from the Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank, for pilot testing by bank employees.

Orders for demonstration models have also come from the US-based credit card consortium Visa, UK-based Mondex International and Swedens Telia Group.

Smart cards contain an embedded microchip capable of storing more than four million bytes of computer data, or dozens of pages of information far more than existing magnetic-strip credit cards that hold just 40 characters or so.

The new financial data format can act as a one-stop shopping card storing electronic cash, a collection of credit cards, and other personal information including several forms of identification to prevent fraud.