Fla. smart card trials don't make case for technology

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Two trials of smart cards in the Orlando area seem to indicate that Americans aren't yet ready for the technology.

SunTrust Banks Inc., which conducted a yearlong test at Disney's Celebration community, quietly abandoned its pilot after residents there largely ignored the cards, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

SunTrust collaborated with Visa International on the Celebration test, during which smart cards were used to store small amounts of cash.

A SunTrust spokeswoman called the trial "an expensive project" and said the cards were not used enough to justify the costs.

Huntington National Bank continues with a pilot at the University of Central Florida in which it distributes all student-aid money to students via microchip-embedded ID cards.

But a bank spokeswoman said Huntington doesn't expect to make a profit on the deal. Rather, the bank's strategy is to develop banking relationships with students that will pay off in later years.