Brussels, 25/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - What future smart card applications can the industry expect, what can consumers hope for? These are the questions which Eurosmart, the European association representing the interests of the sector, tries to answer in its “vision paper”, presented to the press on Thursday 19 April. With continued increases in deliveries recorded, and new market segments conquered (mobile telephony, financial services, e-passports, transport etc), the smart card industry is serenely considering its future expansion into a whole new family of products. The number of smart cards distributed rose from 2.6 billion in 2005 to 3.6 billion in 2006, and Eurosmart Chairman Jacques Seneca expects the figure to rise to 4.2 billion in 2007. By 2020, the number of smart cards will probably have reached 20 billion, through traditional applications, areas already identified for development and areas still little explored, but full of potential, such as M2M (machine to machine). In this type of application, the challenge will be to develop and integrate a form of intelligence in the smart card, which will be sufficient to ensure that every situation can be handled by the smart card. Balancing the advantages and disadvantages in these developments is something that has yet to be achieved. With these technologies playing an increasingly important role in our lives, the general public has a legitimate right to wonder about guarantees of protection against misuse of personal data. To provide the security necessary for the use of these products, and assuage the fears of the public over the use and the repercussions of such developments, the industry appeals to the public authorities to improve communication and consumer education. The vision paper is available on: http://www.eurosmart.com (ab)