Currently, my yellow permits fold down to a 2" x 2" square with the backing off and the transport tag detached. Deer and turkey tags are sized to fit a wallet about like a piece of money, I have to carry them whole for the adhesive backing. If the new permit is 8 1/2" x 11" like Illinois daily fishing tags I have printed online are, it will be hard to laminate and fold them in a way to carry them easily.
My thought on the matter back when the number was assigned and the Heritage Card came out, an agent could scan that with a handheld computer and know what permits you have purchased. But no, you still have to carry paper copies, they have to be signed, and legible so the agent can read them. This would be the way to go. But the Heritage Card only comes out for discounts at the MDC offices.
MDC expects to save 50k each year. There is an online fee to purchase that will drop from $2 to $1. Onsite vendors will have to purchase a computer and printer and keep a broadband connection to sell the permits instead of leasing equipment as they do currently. They will still receive a portion of the sale. After the transition, a person going to a hunting and fishing permit vendor will also receive a plain paper permit. Currently a vendor makes 5% of the permit price, but any 2-3% credit card fee comes out of that percentage. Looks like a loosing proposition for vendors, you will probably see a decrease in the locations of them.