A magnetic stripe card is usually made of iron based magnetic particles embedded in a plastic like material. These magnetic stripe cards are widely used for various purposes, including:
- Credit and Debit Cards: There are many credit and debit cards have a magnetic stripe on the back side. It contains important account information. These information can be read by swiping the card through a magnetic stripe card reader.
- Identification Cards: There are some identification cards, such as employee ID cards or access cards, use magnetic stripes to store information about the cardholder.
- Gift Cards: Gift cards often have a magnetic stripe that stores the card’s balance and other relevant details.
Hotel Key Cards: There are many hotels use magnetic stripe cards as room keys. The information encoded on the stripe grants access to a specific room during the stay.
- Transportation Cards: The magnetic stripe cards are used in some public transportation systems as tickets or travel passes.
The magnetic stripe contains encoded data, and when the card is swiped through a magnetic card reader, the data is read and used for authentication or transaction purposes. However, magnetic stripe cards are considered less secure compared to newer technologies, as the information on the stripe can be easily copied or skimmed.
For this reason, many industries are transitioning to more secure alternatives, such as chip cards (EMV) and contactless cards, to enhance the security of transactions.
How much data can I store on a magnetic stripe card?
The magnetic stripe contains approximately 1024 bits of data, organized into three tracks. The initial track accommodates 76 alphanumeric characters, each encoded with 7 bits per character. The remaining two tracks store 37 and 104 numeric characters, encoded with 5 bits per character.
Numerous credit, banking, and various other cards utilize magnetic stripes containing a strip of magnetic material for storing digital information. The strip holds a limited amount of data, such as the cardholder’s name, account number, expiration date, and more.
