My new debit card came, so i cut up my old one. I used this opportunity to cut out the old chip reader and see what's inside. I don't know what I was expecting, a microprocessor like this makes perfect sense. But something about it, as opposed to the magnetic strip, I found very offputting. Magnetic strip is magnetic strip, just physics at work, right? Relatively simple to understand if you've taken an intro enm class. But a whole ass microprocessor?

When I microchipped my dog, the energy provided by the initialization when they scanned it was enough to keep it powered for years, much longer than the expiration date of a debit card. Additionally, if you had the chip recharge everytime you used it, you could keep a tracker alive for absurdly long periods of time. Seeing as these chips are highly proprietary I'm sure there wouldn't be datasheets publically available, but has anyone looked into these? Can any non-schizo confirm or deny what these chips actually do at a rudimentary level? Are we sure these solely transmit financial information and are inactive when not inserted into a chip reader?