Each month in Belgium, more than 2.3 million electronic purse transactions are performed using Proton-based cards.

CNN: Will smart cards replace ATMs?

An electronic purse is an application that runs on a chip.

CNN: Will smart cards replace ATMs?

Of those, 30 million are Proton electronic purse cards, which are accepted at 200, 000 terminals in 15 countries, including Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

CNN: Will smart cards replace ATMs?

There are roughly 70 million smart cards with electronic purse applications being used throughout Europe now, said Jon Prideaux, executive vice president for new products at Visa International in Europe.

CNN: Will smart cards replace ATMs?

Banksys, which had been developing and marketing Proton electronic purse technology, is spinning-off the technology arm of its company and bringing in American Express, Visa and ERG to form the new company.

CNN: Will smart cards replace ATMs?

The "smart card, " packing an electronic chip, can store everything found in a wallet or purse, a hospital record, a family tree, a university transcript - indeed, much of the detail that points to who a person is.

CNN: ASIANOW - Asiaweek