Mastercard is phasing out cards with magnetic stripes, more than six decades after the technology was first introduced, as consumers adopt chip- and tap-based payments in increasing numbers. The financial services giant said it will phase out magstripe cards starting in 2024, and they will no longer be issued at all, in any market in which it operates (except in limited numbers in the US), by 2029.
“Newly issued Mastercard credit and debit cards will not be required to have a stripe starting in 2024 in most markets,” the company said in a statement. “By 2033, no Mastercard credit and debit cards will have magnetic stripes, which leaves a long runway for the remaining partners who still rely on the technology to phase in chip-card processing.”
The arrival of the magnetic stripe changed all that. An early 1960s innovation largely credited to IBM, the magnetic stripe allowed banks to encode card information onto magnetic tape laminated to the back. It paved the way for electronic payment terminals and chip cards, offering more security and real-time authorisation while making it easier for businesses of all sizes to accept cards. That thin stripe has remained a fixture on billions of payment cards for decades, even as technology has evolved.
“But now the magnetic stripe is reaching its expiration date, with Mastercard becoming the first payments network to phase it out.
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Source: techcentral
