Andy is right. Europay, Mastercard and Visa have combined their efforts to produce the EMV standard for electronic payment systems. The specifications can be downloaded for free (to Tom, Dick, Harry and even Andy or Rob :o) ) from www.emvco.com

Chipcards are indeed very popular in France and they are being increasingly used in The Netherlands as well. These are not creditcards, however, but debit cards. I.e. you have to "load 'em up" with money before you can spend. They are generally known as "e-purse".

Best regards,
Rob Klein.