Magnetic stripe card

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A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on the card. The magnetic stripe, sometimes called a magstripe, is read by physical contact and swiping past a reading head. Magnetic stripe cards are commonly used in credit cards, identity cards, transportation tickets, and so on.

A number of International Standards Organisation standards, ISO 7810, ISO 7811, ISO 7812, ISO 7813, and ISO 4909, define the physical properties of the card, including size, flexibility, location of the magstripe, and magnetic characteristics. They also provide the standards for financial cards, including the allocation of card number ranges to different card issuing institutions.

1 The magnetic stripe
2 Financial cards
3 Driver's Licenses (USA)
4 Other card types
5 External links

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The magnetic stripe

In most magnetic stripe cards, the magnetic stripe is contained in a plastic-like film. The magnetic stripe is located 0.223 inches (5.66 mm) from the edge of the card, and is 0.375 inches (9.52 mm) wide. The magnetic stripe contains three tracks, each 0.110 inches (2.79 mm) wide. Tracks one and three are typically recorded at 210 bits per inch (830 bit/cm), while track two typically has a recording density of 75 bits per inch (300 bit/cm). Each track can either contain 7-bit alphanumeric characters, or 5-bit numeric characters.

Magstripes come in two varieties: high-coercivity and low-coercivity. High-coercivity magstripes are harder to erase, and therefore are appropriate for cards that are frequently used or that need to have a long life. Low-coercivity magstripes require a lower amount of magnetic energy to record, and hence the card writers are much cheaper than machines which are capable of recording high-coercivity magstripes. A card reader can read either type of magstripe, but a high-coercivity card writer may write only high-coercivity cards, while a low-coercivity card writer may write only low-coercivity cards.

Magnetic stripe cards are used in very high volumes in the mass transit sector, replacing paper based tickets with either a directly applied magnetic slurry or hot foil stripe. Slurry applied stripes are generally less expensive to produce but are perceived to be of lower quality. These cards typically would not comply with the standards for payment and other cards mentioned elsewhere in this article.

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Financial cards

The information on track one on financial cards is contained in several formats: A, which is reserved for proprietary use of the card issuer, B, which is described below, C-M, which are reserved for use by ANSI Subcommittee X3B10 and N-Z, which are available for use by individual card issuers:

Track one, Format B:

Start sentinel — one character (generally '%')
Format code="B" — one character (alpha only)
Primary account number — up to 19 characters
Field Separator — one character (generally '^')
Name — two to 26 characters
Field Separator — one character (generally '^')
Expiration date — four characters
Service code — three characters
Discretionary data — may include Pin Verification Key Indicator (PVKI, 1 character), Pin Verification Value (PVV, 4 characters), Card Verification Value or Card Verification Code (CVV or CVK, 3 characters)
End sentinel — one character (generally '?')
Longitudinal redundancy check (LRC) — one character

LRC is a form of computed check character.

The format for track two, developed by the banking industry (ABA), is as follows:

Start sentinel — one character (generally ';')
Primary account number — up to 19 chars
Separator — one char (generally '=')
Expiration date — four characters
Service code — three characters
Discretionary data — as in track one
End sentinel — one character (generally '?')
LRC — one character

The format for track three, as specified in ISO 4909 is as follows:

Start sentinel — one character (generally ';')
Format code — two characters (numeric) See description below
Primary account number — up to 19 characters
Field Separator — one character (generally '=')
Country code optional, 3 characters
Currency code 3 characters
Currency Exponent 1 characters
Amount Authorized per Cycle 4 characters
Amount remaining this cycle 4 characters
cycle begin (validity date) 4 characters
cycle length 2 characters
retry count 1 character
Pin control parameters (optional) 6 characters
Interchange controls 1 characters
PAN Service restriction 2 characters
SAN-1 Service Restriction 2 characters
SAN-2 Service Restriction 2 characters
Expiration date (optional) 4 characters
Card Sequence number 1 character
Card Security Number optional, 9 characters
First subsidiary account number optional
Secondary subsidiary account number optional
Relay Marker 1 character
Cryptographic Check Digits optional, 6 characters
Discretionary Data
End sentinel — one character (generally '?')
Longitudinal redundancy check (LRC) — one character

Format codes are (field 2):

00: Not valid for international interchange.
01-02: Bank/financial. These are the formats described here.
03-19: Reserved for future use by ISO/TC 68.
20-89: Reserved for future use by ISO/TC 95 SC 17.
90-99: Reserved for proprietary use of card issuer, but not for international interchange.

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Driver's Licenses (USA)

The data stored on magnetic stripes on American driver's licenses is specified by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

The following data is stored on track 1:

State or Province
City
Name
Address

The following data is stored on track 2:

ISO Issuer Identifier Number (IIN)
Drivers License / Identification Number
Field Separator — generally '='
Expiration Date
Birth date
DL/ID# overflow

The following data is stored on track 3:

Template V#
Security V#
Postal Code
Class
Restrictions
Endorsements
Sex
Height
Weight
Hair Color
Eye Color
ID#
Reserved Space
Error Correction
Security

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Other card types

Smart cards are a newer generation of card containing an integrated circuit chip. The card may have metal contacts connecting the card physically to the reader, while contactless cards use a magnetic field or radio frequency (RFID) for close-proximity reading.

'Hybrid' smart cards include a magnetic stripe in addition to the chip — this is most common in payment cards, so that the cards are also compatible with payment terminals that do not include a smart card reader.

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