Smart card technology finds popular applications in security and access control, financial transactions, medical records, loyalty programs, toll and vending collection, enterprise and single-user network sign-on and more that require secure information exchanges. Contact smart cards have a contact, or "chip" area with several contact pads that, when inserted into a Manhattan smart card reader, can authenticate the user and safely transfer information between the card and host computer. Smart cards are utilized extensively in Europe and Asia, and the use of smart cards is growing in North and South America, replacing less secure and less reliable barcode ID and magnetic stripe cards to provide flexible and standard transactions and strong, tamperresistant authentication with minimal human intervention.