Abstract: A user transaction terminal which may be connected for communication with a large scale data processing system includes a card handling subsystem which receives and transports user information cards; a user communication subsystem which includes a keyboard and an optical display; a hardware control subsystem which operates terminal hardware, a transaction statement subsystem which prints and dispenses written records of user transactions; a terminal communication subsystem which provides communication with a data processing system; a processor support subsystem which assists a control subsystem by performing control functions which are more easily implemented with hardware than software; and a control subsystem which includes a programmed microprocessor which is connected to the other subsystems via an information bus to coordinate and control the operations of the other subsystems. The keyboard includes a plurality of mutually exclusive keyboard fields, each relating to a different type of information.