Stripe Card

Five Things You Should Know About Contactless RFID Credit Cards

What is a contactless credit card and how does it work?

For decades, credit cards have relied on magnetic stripes located on the reverse side of the card to store data. To transmit this data, the card must be swiped through a magnetic reader, making physical contact with the stripe. A contactless credit card, on the other hand, stores its data on a chip embedded in the card's plastic. This data is transmitted not magnetically, but rather via a tiny radio signal when the card comes in close proximity of a special reader at the checkout stand. This works through radio frequency identification technology, also known as RFID. When the chip comes close enough to the reader, an antenna on the chip is jolted to life by the electromagnetic field created by the reader, and transaction data is sent to into the system.

What are the advantages of contactless credit cards?

For starters, these RFID credit cards are much faster and more convenient than traditional magnetic stripe cards. A cardholder simply waves the card over the reader, waits a moment for the acceptence signal from the machine, and that's it. There's no need to fumble for cash, and with transactions under $25, there is no need to key in a PIN code or sign a receipt. Just wave and go. Also, since the card never leaves the user's hand, it is considered by some to be more secure.

What are the disadvantages of contactless credit cards?

Some opponents to contactless credit cards have contended that there are security risks with using these RFID credit cards, as the radio transmission could potentially get intercepted by a criminal with malicious intentions. The good news, however, is that the actual credit card number is not transmitted via radio wave. Rather, it is a unique encrypted code only good for RFID transactions. Also, just like ordinary cards, cardholders are not liable for any fraudulent charges.

Where can contactless credit cards be used?

Currently, Visa Contactless, American ExpressPay, and MasterCard PayPass are available at select retailers in certain locations in the United States, including 7-Eleven, McDonald's, KFC, Arby's, Walgreens, Sony Style, Wawa, Sheetz, CVS Pharmacy, and a variety of movie theaters. Retailers capable of handing contactless credit card transactions will have a special symbol on their credit card reader located at the checkout stand. RFID credit cards can also be used at any location that accepts ordinary credit cards, since the new contactless cards will still have a regular magnetic stripe on the back.

Who offers contactless credit cards?

All new American Express Blue and Blue Cash cards now come equipped with the contactless feature. Also available from American Express is an RFID key fob that can be linked to most existing credit card accounts. Chase has teamed with MasterCard and Visa to offer Chase blink cards in a variety of styles.

About the Author

Joey Loma recommends Find Credit Cards to apply for a contactless RFID credit card. See http://www.findcreditcards.org/type/contactless.php for more information.

Evolis Pebble 4: The Most Ingenious Card Printer Of Its Generation

That's a pretty powerful statement but the Evolis Pebble 4 offers the options, features, quality and capability to back it up. It could very well be the most ingenious plastic card printer of its generation.Speedy printing of logos, text, bar codes, photos and signatures make this printer imressive.contact-less and smart cards are available as well as a magnetic stripe encoding option. The Windows Driver and eMedia software are included to make this printer an outstanding value for less than $2000.

This model is perfect for the user making the transition into producing his or her plastic cards.Adding style to your office, the desktop unit is available in Ocean Blue, Jungle Green and Fire Red.The Pebble will satisfy your expections if you are in a smaller organization that needs a number of personalized cards.This printer is for you if you are looking to print single sided badges.

With the Evolis printer you can easily print employee badges, student ID's, transport passes, loyalty cards, access control badges, payment cards and much more.The most advanced printing engine in the world is pehaps housed in this printer.High definition badges can be printed in seconds with magnetic encoding and the encoding of smart cards.Cards can include all of these encoding options and print in a single pass.Technology at it's best is on display.

If that was not enough the Evolis printer displays a 100-card feeder for bulk production needs or you can add the manual feeding option that enables you to print one great card at a time when you want to issue a card quickly.Cards printed per hour on the Evolis Pebble are as high as 150 color cards or 1000 monochrome cards.This printing is fast.Image quality is excellent due to the combination of 300 DPI printing and dye sublimation printing.

The Evolis Pebble 4 produces badges very quickly utilizing the existing templates. Data can be transferred from other programs like Excel.Some of the most adaptable printers available are from Evolis as these units are available for Linux, Windows and Mac.The Evolis manufacturer warranty for this printer is three years with unlimited card printing numbers. With a warranty like that you know the manufacturer has confidence in their product and are willing to pass that confidence on to you.If you are considering a card printer for your organization, the Evolis Pebble 4 is worth a second look.

Does it matter if a gift cards swipe stripe is damaged?

i pulled it out of my wallet and there is a little like dot that is white can i still use it?

NORMALLY WHEN THE MAGNETIC STRIP IS DAMAGED, THE NUMBERS ON THE CARD CAN BE PUNCHED IN AT TIME OF PURCHASE : )

Chase chip changes credit card experience overseas (ICC Credit Card)

Chase has launched its third credit card with an embedded chip that's
compatible with foreign card processing technologies. That could be a big help
to Americans traveling abroad.

ICC Credit Card

Mag-Stripe Cards Get Smart