Identification system safeguarded against misuse

In a system, secured against misuse and counterfeiting, for effecting transactions, such as manual or mechanical delivery of commodities, services and money while using identificands, such as credit cards, check cards, cards for automatic machines, coded tokens, keys and the like, provided with identification data, processing data, or both which are readable visually, by a machine, or both, and while using a personal identifying designation, such as a personal identification number (PIN), for verifying the entitlement of the user of the identificand:

• the improvement comprising, in combination, an identificand having inaccessibly and integrally incorporated therein memories for entry and storage of information therein, including a personal identifying designation;
• at least the memory for entry and storage of the personal identifying designation being chargeable only once, and at least the contents of the memory for the personal identifying designation being available only within the identificand;
• verifying means operable to receive said identificand and apply an input thereto;
• components included in said identificand and activated, responsive to an input from said verifying means, to effect checking of the identity and entitlement of a user of said identificand;
• and input-output means included in said identificand for establishing communication between said identificand and said verifying means;
• said identificand including means preventing external access to said memories except through said input-output means when in communication with said verifying means.