A smart card is a card with a chip or circuitry integrated into it.
Smart card readers can be built into a laptop or desktop computer. The reader is able to read information off of a smart card’s integrated circuit. Thus smart cards and smart card readers can be used as a form of authentication. You may be asked to insert the smart card into the reader as another form of authentication.
Smart card readers can be built in or external. External smart card readers are usually connected via USB.