Lido, I think you may be confusing RFID technology and Smart Card technology. RFID technology has been available and allows for swipe-less transactions (Hold your card to a reader). Smart card technology uses encryption information and other data that is stored in memory on the card (just like a SIM card). The smart card technology does not transmit any data at all. It simply replaces the magnetic strip used in today's cards with a "smart chip" with a small amount of storage and the ability to process a small amount of data (think SIM). Here's a little more on the subject:
Smart Cards
*The "smart" credit card is an innovative application that involves all aspects of cryptography (secret codes), not just the authentication. A smart card has a microprocessor built into the card itself. Cryptography is essential to the functioning of these cards in several ways:
- The user must corroborate his identity to the card each time a transaction is made, in much the same way that a PIN is used with an ATM.
- The card and the card reader execute a sequence of encrypted sign/countersign-like exchanges to verify that each is dealing with a legitimate counterpart.
- Once this has been established, the transaction itself is carried out in encrypted form to prevent anyone, including the cardholder or the merchant whose card reader is involved, from "eavesdropping" on the exchange and later impersonating either party to defraud the system.
*This elaborate protocol is conducted in such a way that it is invisible to the user, except for the necessity of entering a PIN to begin the transaction.
