Digital card

[4][1] A smartphone or smartwatch can store content from the card issuer; discount offers and news updates can be transmitted wirelessly, via Internet.

As technological progress emerged in the form of highly capable and always carried smartphones, handhelds and smartwatches, the term "digital card" was introduced.

They may also contain a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, a transponder device and/or a microchip mostly used for access control or electronic payment.

[7] In 1969 an IBM engineer had the idea of attaching a piece of magnetic tape, the predominant storage medium at the time, to a plastic card base.

When he explained the source of his frustration – inability to get the tape to "stick" to the plastic so that it would not come off, but without compromising its function – she suggested that he use the iron to melt the stripe on.

[11][12][13] This engineering effort resulted in IBM producing the first magnetic striped plastic credit and ID cards used by banks, insurance companies, hospitals and many others.

[14] Manufacturing involved attaching the magnetic stripe to the preprinted plastic cards using the hot stamping process developed by IBM.

Magstripes following these specifications can typically be read by most point-of-sale hardware, which are simply general-purpose computers that have been programmed to perform the required tasks.

This signature can be used in conjunction with common two-factor authentication schemes utilized in ATM, debit/retail point-of-sale and prepaid card applications.

Track 3 is virtually unused by the major worldwide networks[citation needed], and often is not even physically present on the card by virtue of a narrower magnetic stripe.

Note: Some states, such as Texas,[22] have laws restricting the access and use of electronically readable information encoded on driver's licenses or identification cards under certain circumstances.

[citation needed] During DEF CON 24, Weston Hecker presented Hacking Hotel Keys, and Point Of Sales Systems.

In the talk, Hecker described the way magnetic strip cards function and utilised spoofing software,[23] and an Arduino to obtain administrative access from hotel keys, via service staff walking past him.