Cards with electronic chip,  also called a Smart Card or Integrated Circuit Card (ICC), are special plastic cards with build-in chips which contain a hardware logic, memory or also a microprocessor. The heart of the card with electronic chip is the integrated switching circuit (microchip) which determines the abilities and therefore the area of application of the card with electronic chip.

The chip is protected by the card with the electronic chip module, so that the chip is completely embedded and not visible. The module also shows the connection with the outside world - the typical golden contacts of the card with electronic chip module are outwardly visible. Although a common card with electonic chip, the chip needs only five contacts for the communication. But the cards with electronic chip modules have intends by the size of the built-in chip to correspond six or eight contacs, indeed, only around the ISO norms.

At last the module including chip is inserted in a card. In addition a cavity is milled in an already printed card and the module is stuck.

The card dimensions are standardised after ISO 7816 and are available according to this norm in three different dimensions:

ID-1: The biggest and farthest widespread format (85.60 x 53.98 mms) is used with EC-cards, telephone cards, the EU driving licence or the health isurance card. It is also called the cheque card format.

ID-00: The middle format (66 x 33 mms) has found up to now no bigger application.

ID-000: The smallest on the formats (25 x 15 mms) finds use as SIM cards in moblie phones.

Mini UICC (12 x 15 mms): hardly greater than the contact surfaces

Visas-mini (65.6 x 40.0 mms): Format belonging to visas

The thickness of the cards of all dimensions is identical and amounts to 0.76 mms