QueryCAT Logo
Search 5,000,000+ questions and answers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is there no magnetic stripe on the e-card ?

Citibank UAE - Citibank e-Card: Frequently Asked Questions
The e-card does not bear the magnetic stripe because it was designed only for Internet and other purchases where physical presentment of the card is not required and for security it cannot be misused at POS machines or ATM machines by anyone.

What information can be stored on a magnetic stripe card?

ASP Microcomputers Magnetic Stripe Reader Support Page
The magnetic stripe card standard for financial cards (ie credit and debit cards) allow for three tracks, called, not surprisingly, tracks one, two and three. Track one can contain up to 79 alpha numeric characters, while tracks two and three can contain up to 40 and 107 numeric characters respectively. Note that track one is the only track in the financial card standard that can contain letters - the other tracks can contain numbers only.

What is a magnetic stripe?

Card Technology : Magnetic Stripe Frequently Asked Questions
A magnetic stripe is the black or brown stripe that you see on your credit card, or maybe the back of your airline ticket or transit card. The stripe is made up of tiny magnetic particles in a resin. The particles are either applied directly to the card or made into a stripe on a plastic backing which is applied to the card. The material used to make the particles defines the Coercivity (see below) of the stripe.

Can a magnetic stripe reader read all the tracks on a card at once?

ASP Microcomputers Magnetic Stripe Reader Support Page
Yes. Although in most applications, you will need to read only one track from a card, you can order magnetic stripe readers to read any combination of tracks, such as track two only, tracks one and three, all tracks, etc.

Can we order contactless ISO card with magnetic stripe?

RFID Tag - B2B Passive RFID Transponder, Proximity Contactle...
Yes, currently we are able to provide contactless ISO card with 300 oe, 650 oe (JIS), 2750 oe, 3600 oe and 4000 oe magnetic stripes. The following figure 1.1 is the magnetic stripe position on our ISO Card. Coercivity: A technical term used to designate how strong a magnetic field must be to affect data encoded on a magnetic stripe. Coercivity is measured in Oersteds (oe). LoCo: A standard bank card has coercivity of approximately 300 oe and is considered to be low coercivity.

Will I be able to use my Cold Stone Gift Card if the magnetic stripe is damaged?

Cold Stone Creamery Gift Cards - Frequently Asked Questions
You can use a gift card with a damaged magnetic stripe as long as the numbers on the card are legible, the card's balance can be verified, and transactions can be processed manually by keying in the number on the card.

How is a smart card different from the magnetic stripe card that I carry in my wallet?

Frequently Asked Questions
Smart cards allow storage of thousands of times the information storable on magnetic stripe cards. In addition, smart cards are reliable, perform multiple functions, and they can be more secure because of built-in security mechanisms such as advanced digital encryption and stored biometrics.

What is track 1 on a magnetic stripe?

FAQs - frequently asked questions about plastic card systems...
Track 1 is the first magnetic track on a financial transactional card. It is read-only and recorded at 8.3 bpmm (contents are defined in ISO 7813).

What is encoded on other magnetic stripe cards?

ASP Microcomputers Magnetic Stripe Reader Support Page
Almost universally, track two will hold the card number, and where used, the card expiry date. What's on the other tracks, if there's anything at all, is totally up to the manufacturer.

What if my magnetic stripe quits working?

CampusAccess Card: FAQ
Bring your card to Campus Card Services. If we determine that the card is damaged or worn through normal usage, there will be no charge for a replacement. However, there will be a $5 charge if damage is the fault of the cardholder.

How does the magnetic stripe work?

Card Technology : Magnetic Stripe Frequently Asked Questions
The end-user defines the requirements for the magnetic stripe including the signal amplitude expected, the coercivity of the stripe, the encoding method and the bit density. The card manufacturer uses the first two points to select the type of magnetic material to use. The system designer is concerned with all four of the parameters. explained above, the stripe is made from many small particles bound together in a resin.

How is information encoded on the magnetic stripe?

Card Technology : Magnetic Stripe Frequently Asked Questions
Each character that is encoded on the stripe is made of a number of bits. The polarity of the magnetic particles in the stripe are changed to define each bit. Several schemes exist to determine whether each bit is a one or a zero, the most commonly used schemes are F2F (or Aiken BiPhase) and MFM (Modified Frequency Modulation). The ISO/IEC 7811 standards specify F2F encoding. In this encoding, each bit has the same physical length on the stripe.

Who uses magnetic stripe cards?

Card Technology : Magnetic Stripe Frequently Asked Questions
Everyone uses magnetic stripes. The most visible use is your bank (credit, debit, and ATM) cards, but these are not the only places. Take a look at your Airline Ticket and Boarding pass (ATB) the next time you travel. Many of these are now including magnetic stripes on the cards. Other places include your phone card, your transit (bus or train) ticket, and even your parking lot ticket.

Are there standards for magnetic stripe use?

Card Technology : Magnetic Stripe Frequently Asked Questions
Yes there are. The most commonly quoted standards are the ISO/IEC 7810, 11, 12 and 13 series of standards. These standards are written for the credit and debit card market and so include information on the embossed characters on the cards as well as the track locations and information on the magnetic stripe. ISO/IEC 7811 has six parts with parts two and six specifically about low and high coercivity magnetic stripes.

When is it acceptable to store magnetic stripe data?

Merchant Account FAQ: How to Accept Credit Cards & How t...
It is never acceptable for acquirers, merchants, or service providers to retain magnetic stripe data subsequent to transaction authorization. The Visa & MasterCard Operating Regulations prohibit storage of the contents of the magnetic stripe as a unit. Cardholder name, account number, and expiration date may be retained subsequent to transaction authorization, however the data must be encrypted.

I have heard that magnetic stripe it is not secure - it is this true?

Card Technology : Magnetic Stripe Frequently Asked Questions
Magnetic stripes are not inherently secure. The problem with being easy to manufacture and encode is that it also makes it easy for the crooks to do the same. Several schemes are available for creating a secure encoding on a magnetic stripe, Watermark Magnetics, XSec, Holomagnetics, XiShield, Jitter Enhancement, ValuGard, and MagnaPrint are a few. The contacts for these technologies are listed at the end of the paper.

What is the difference between high-coercivity and low-coercivity magnetic stripe cards?

TTSYS - FAQ's
Magnetic stripes are commonly found on credit cards, access level cards and other cards used in all kinds of applications. (Note: This well-established technology is used in industries with low- to medium-data storage requirements.) Black or Brown Stripes: Magnetic stripe cards are simply PVC cards with either black or brown stripes on them (made up of magnetic particles of resin). Brown stripes are generally low-coercivity (LoCo), while black stripes are high-coercivity (HiCo).
More Questions >>

© Copyright 2007-2012 QueryCAT
About • Webmasters • Contact