It uses "contactless" technology called "Blink." How does it work? The customer waves the card slowly within about four inches of a window of a new type of reader. In a second or so, he hears a tone or beep from the reader when the payment is done. The customer doesn't have to hand his card to another person, sign anything, swipe a card or even put in an ID number.

     What makes it work? The card has an RFID tag inside. Those initials stand for Radio Frequency IDentification. The RDIF tag will have enough information about the owner of the card, account numbers and balances, etc. to know what account to charge, much like a debit card.

     It's been developed to make checking out of a store faster. People get frustrated if they have to wait too long to check out. American Express estimates using this card will reduce paying time by 53 percent, compared to paying with a swipe card. It will be 63 percent faster than using cash.

     American Express, VISA and Master Card have all agreed on processing machines that will read each other's cards.

     Companies like 7-11, quick-service restaurants, and others based on convenience at the point of sale are welcoming the new technology. The new machines will still allow a customer to swipe a debit or credit card, but because their reputation depends on convenience, they want to be among the leaders to use the latest technology.

     Chase Bank began distributing these new "blink" cards during the second half of 2005 in the eastern states.

     The cards do have the same security and privacy protections that other types of cards have. The readers do use coding to scramble the customer's card information.

Did You Know?

Experts in payment technology believe more than 50 million of these new cards will be in the U.S. market by the end of 2006.