I have to admit, I *love* my Speedpass. I find myself seeking out Mobil stations so I can use it. I think Speedpass may have a 'grams' wallet, eventually, but I'd want more authentication than "has Jim's keys!" before I felt as good about using it for spends -- with dollars, currently I'm (supposedly) not at risk for theft, they even cover the fifty bucks I'd be out if the card were stolen, they claim, but I don't wish to test that feature!
It's neat-o technology. Speedpass is at www.speedpass.com JMR http://www.americanbanker.com/printthis.html?id=20020506RC9KW20D&from=Home American Banker A Marriage of Security and Convenience From: Card Technology Thursday, May 16, 2002 Millions of consumers pay for gasoline by waving a small token, like the ExxonMobil Speedpass, near a pump. And millions more ride subways and buses each day by waving a contactless smart card past a turnstile. Wouldn't it be great if there were one token consumers could use to pay for many things, and not just in their home towns, but around the world? That has not been feasible up until now because the encryption technology used to secure financial transactions when many merchants or service providers are involved took too long to complete a transaction. What's more, this technology, known as public key, requires too much power for devices such as these that are powered up by a radio frequency signal from a reader. But at least three makers of smart card chips are looking seriously at a new encryption system that its developers claim can work quickly enough to be used in transit systems, and that would dramatically lower the price of contactless cards sophisticated enough for use in retail payment applications. The technology is from a Burlington, Mass.-based company called NTRU, which has attracted $38 million in financing in the past two years. Among the investors are technology giants Texas Instruments and Sony Corp. Both companies confirm their interest in using NTRU technology in mobile devices, pointing out that NTRU requires less processing power and electrical energy than other encryption systems. [...] --- You are currently subscribed to e-gold-list as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Use e-gold's Secure Randomized Keyboard (SRK) when accessing your e-gold account(s) via the web and shopping cart interfaces to help thwart keystroke loggers and common viruses.
