Why is reloadability important to the development of the smart card vis-à-vis disposable cards?
There are markets for both disposable and reloadable cards. Disposable cards work well for an event and as a collectible card. Disposable is also desirable when people are traveling or visiting a location and may only want to purchase a stored value card for a specific amount of time. If the card were a multiple application card supporting for example debit and/or credit and stored value, the customer would not want to throw this type of card away. It would be more appropriate that the stored value application be reloadable. A standalone reloadable card (as opposed to a standalone disposable card) is very attractive to some customers. This customer would tend to be someone who uses their stored value on a frequent basis perhaps for public transportation, corporate cafeteria etc. and wants to be able to reload the card on a periodic basis rather than have to buy a new card each time.
