What better place than a city-sized university to develop the combination of a student ID, a library card, a secure access card (swipe it to enter your dorm room or to view confidential university academic and financial records), a bank card (debit and ATM), a phone card (separate PIN), and cash equivalent card (embedded chip to which up to $100 can be added) for use in everyday small purchases? In 1985, Florida State University (FSU), a community of 29,000 students, began adding these functions to its student ID card. Meanwhile, CyberMark, an Ohio company, was also interested in developing multifunctional administrative and financial cards.

In 1997, having identified and appreciated FSU's substantial expertise in the design and use of multifunctional cards, particularly those with both embedded computer chips and magnetic strips, Cybermark licensed the FSU technology. Bill Norwood and eight colleagues left FSU in 1997 to jumpstart Cybermark's expanding business.

Sixty people (45 of them in Tallahassee, Florida) processed transactions on the 700,000 issued cards. In May 1999, First USA, the world's largest credit card issuer, purchased shares in Cybermark and added a credit card option to the card. Cybermark continued marketing and issuing the cards to educational institutions (e.g. Villannova, Guilford College, University of Toronto, and Cleveland State University) and is also marketing to corporations and for use at sporting events. Corporations are interested in it for many of the same reasons as universities-secure access to buildings or records, banking functions, and cash equivalent for small purchases.

Unfortunately, various factors lead to the company declaring bankruptcy in 2003 and effectively ceasing operations. Today, HDO Card Systems is the privately-held successor to CyberMark and is a leading provider of college smart cards and ID related services and products, servicing over 100,000 students nationwide.

For more information please visit the FSU CardCenter webpage at www.fsucard.fsu.edu.