How does a credit card/ ATM Card/ Debit Card work?

Question

Actually, our school teacher asked us to find about the working of the above mentioned gadgets especially the magnetic tape. I want some help.

Answer 1

The most basic card is the "ATM card." Take this to a machine at a bank, preferably where you have an account with some money in it. You use the ATM card in an ATM machine to receive cash. Withdraw $40 with the ATM card, which is taken out of your account right then. If you don't have $40 in your account, the machine will print on a screen you don't have $40. It then returns your card to you. You can also use your ATM card at other banks, but there's a fee of $2-$4 on top of the cash you get, so avoid doing that.

The debit card can be used to buy your girlfriend a gift, say a $40 set of earrings, because you're a generous guy. You select something she will love, then put down the debit card. The clerk may ask you to swipe your card on a machine or she may swipe it on her computer. This works like an ATM card. You have to have the money in your account, or the debit card will be declined. Remember, there are phone lines in use to access the computers at your bank, so be patient. Now, the sale is approved and you will have a nice date tonight.

Credit cards are a whole different thing. You can use one to buy things or get cash. Your credit card allows you to use someone else's money. "Credit" means you are borrowing the money, but you have to pay it back later. A credit card allows you to buy a better gift for your girl, say a diamond ring. Now you are on your way to a special evening. Of course, you will need to find the money to pay the credit card bill when it comes in the mail.

The credit card industry is huge and it is looking for new users like you. So be careful with a credit card. It's better to strictly use debit cards and ATM cards because you are working on your own money. Anyway, I know you'll have fun on your date.

Answer 2

The stripe on the back of a credit card is a magnetic stripe, often called a magstripe. The magstripe is made up of tiny iron-based magnetic particles in a plastic-like film. Each particle is really a very tiny bar magnet about 20 millionths of an inch long.

The front of your credit has a lot of numbers. Here is an example of what they might mean.



Your card also has a magstripe on the back and a place for your all-important signature.




The magstripe can be "written" because the tiny bar magnets can be magnetized in either a north or south pole direction. The magstripe on the back of the card is very similar to a piece of cassette tape fastened to the back of a card. See How Cassette Tapes Work.)

Instead of motors moving the tape so it can be read, your hand provides the motion as you "swipe" a credit card through a reader or insert it in a reader at the gas station pump.

There are three tracks on the magstripe. Each track is .110-inch wide. The ISO/IEC standard 7811, which is used by banks, specifies:

Track one is 210 bits per inch (bpi), and holds 79 six-bit plus parity bit read-only characters.
Track two is 75 bpi, and holds 40 four-bit plus parity bit characters.
Track three is 210 bpi, and holds 107 four-bit plus parity bit characters.
Your credit card typically uses only tracks one and two. Track three is a read/write track (that includes an encrypted PIN, country code, currency units, amount authorized), but its usage is not standardized among banks.

Answer 3

Well all you do is swipe the card and sign and their you go you paid