Abstract: In this paper, we present a new PCA-based face verification approach for smart cards implementation. In fact, our scheme deals with the reduced storage space of smart cards. First of all the DCT2 and then the self Eigen face, are respectively applied for the training step and in the decision step, a new similarity index based on the weighted distance by the representation quality of individuals is used. Experimental results, using AR face database, show a better recognition rate compared to popular distances such as Euclidian, Manhattan and Mahalanobis