Smart cards, which can carry as much as80 times more information on them than conventional cards with a magnetic strips, are already widely used in European countries where centralized banks can roll out mew services on a nationwide basis.

• 智能卡载有的信息量是普通磁带卡信息量的80倍，已经在欧洲各国广泛使用，因而使欧洲各国中央银行得以在全国范围内展开新型的服务。