A brand of
smart card with a 12-pin connector, recharging machines and compatibility with some vending machines. At
UCF a Gemplus chip and a Huntington Bank
mag-stripe are part of the student ID card. Gemplus cards are simple and easy to use where available, but finding a compatible reader is the challenge.
The benefit, of course, is that you can't spend more money than you have. Unlike a credit card, you never run the risk of incurring a Sisyphus' Rock's worth of debt. And merchants pay a lot less to support Gemplus than they do Leaning Tower of Visa, Bastardcard, or Cuban Express.