Marcel Grignon

Marcel Grignon (born circa 1930, died August 12, 2021) was a French engineer and inventor best known for designing the Carte à Puce, or chip card, also known as the smart card. Grignon's work on miniaturization and embedding electronic circuits into plastic cards revolutionized secure payment and identification technologies.

Grignon began his career at the French electronics company, Bull, in the late 1960s. It was at Bull that he conceived and developed the initial concept for the chip card. He is credited with inventing the basic architecture and manufacturing process for integrating a microchip into a plastic card. Although Roland Moreno is often cited as the inventor of the smart card, Grignon's crucial role in the technology's development is well-documented. The patent for the smart card was filed in Grignon's name, demonstrating his significant contribution.

The invention of the chip card laid the foundation for a wide range of applications, including credit cards, debit cards, SIM cards for mobile phones, identification cards, and transportation cards. Grignon's innovation addressed the growing need for enhanced security and data storage capabilities compared to traditional magnetic stripe cards.

Grignon's legacy is the ubiquitous presence of the chip card in modern life, contributing significantly to the security and convenience of numerous electronic transactions and identification systems worldwide.