OK then discard my message, I've been miles from going that far, but it's the same 10 years now... :-) We tried to make some sort of "electronic purse" (and the cards were not the only means we considered then), but we found out that the security of them is good for value up to $10 or so - an amount where the fraud simply does not pay out; unless they are used in a strictly controlled way (e.g. where an attempted fraud would invoke immediate action, or where the cards are not issued anonymously). And it is similar for the access control/restriction systems. Today it might be slightly better but in this form of cat/mouse game IMHO the cards are still losing.

I personally would try the funcard, they are AVR-based; I simply don't like the PICs...

Jan Waclawek