[joe_inferno]

I setup a bank account in Germany in 2007 that issued me a hardware token generator (I forget the name of the bank). It was my first experience with 2 factor auth, and I'm a little surprised that I have yet to see it implemented with banks in the US.

[luchs]

Today, these usually work by transmitting some code via a flickering field on the website. You insert your bank card into the generator, hold it to your screen and type the number it shows on the device.

The German Wikipedia has some pictures: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transaktionsnummer#chipTAN_comf...