The PC/SC standard (PC/SmartCard) was developed to ensure compatibility between smart cards, card reader/writers and computers produced by different manufacturers. The PC/SC standard was development was based on the current ISO 7816 standard for smartcard communications, and supports business-specific application standards such as EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) and GSM (Global Standard for Mobile Communication).

This new technology allows application developers to take advantage of the smart cards portability and hardware-based security, both critical factors for the development of secure applications.

PC/SC includes:

- Specifications for cryptographic functionality and secure storage
- Programming interface for communication with smart card and reader device
- High-level application interface - to make it easier to build smart card applications

Supports:

- PC/SC compatible device driver
- Serial RS-232-C (V.24) interface or USB version
- Status shown by 2 color LEDs
- No power supply necessary