Magnetic+Stripe+Reader

Magnetic Stripe Readers read information encoded magnetically in a stripe on the back of a plastic or cardboard card. The stripe on the back of the card is composed of magnetic particles encased in tape made of plastic. The orientation of the particles in the stripe is used to encode binary data. Most stripes can store up to 2 KB of information. They are used in applications such as credit and debit cards, library cards, railway tickets, bus tickets, phone cards and hotel keys. They have to be slowly and steadily swiped through the magnetic stripe reader to induce a current in the reader. They are being replaced slowly by smart cards. The magnetic stripe, sometimes called swipe card or magstripe, is read by physical contact and swiping past a magnetic reading head. The magnetic stripe card came about in the 1960s, invented by IBM under contract with the US government for a security system.