Imperial Standard Credit Card
An Imperial Standard Credit Card (ISCC) is a credit-card sized portable bank teller with a micro-processor unit which keeps track of its associated account. The card also contains biometric data of the owner of the account in order to ensure the identity of the one using the card for financial transactions.
Description[edit]
An Imperial Standard Credit Card is effectively a portable bank teller. A microprocessor unit tracks the account and contains biometric and other information used for personal identification. Made of plasteel, the card is practically indestructible. It is nearly tamper-proof, in that most attempts to tamper with it merely result in blanking the card. It may be used in any Imperial starport to get Imperial credits, local currency or debit cards drawn on local banks if the local technology supports it. Identification information consists of a thumbprint activator and a record of the owner's retina print. The latter is checked for verification on all transactions over Cr100,000.
Merchants in systems with a TL of 13 or higher routinely accept this card. In such systems, purchases are sped up thru the card's use by taking only the time to do a quick retina scan in a credit register's sensor. Transaction information verification is based upon its span of use in the user's transaction history, with the transaction records own data giving evidence of recent limited or extensive travel, which in turn affects the duration of the account verification process. Verification time is generally equal to approximately 3 times the normal communication time across the established area, the size of the Imperium itself being the maximum region of access. This maximum period of verification across the entire Imperium amounts to 7 years.
Some individuals opt to open up two or more accounts for security purposes.
The Travellers' Aid Society accepts the card in all of its facilities for cash advances or other services, and has its own version of the card available for purchase by TAS Members known as a TAS Services Card, which can be had for a modest Cr10,000 lifetime fee.
Iridium Edition[edit]
There is also an Iridium Edition of the ISCC available to the ultra-wealthy containing the complete sequence of the owner's DNA Code in addition to the fingerprint, retina, and other biometric data for positive proof identification and practically unlimited reliability of credit, to the point where it is even possible for the possessors of such a card to purchase a starship with its confirmation of identity and positive credit.
Only the very wealthy may obtain the Iridium Edition of the card. It contains the owner's DNA code, allowing for positive identification and unlimited reliability. Starships have been purchased on these cards.