Payment card

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Example of two credit cards
An example of the front of a typical debit card:
  1. Issuing bank logo
  2. EMV chip
  3. Hologram
  4. Card number
  5. Card brand logo
  6. Expiration date
  7. Cardholder's name




Typically, a payment card is electronically linked to an account or accounts belonging to the cardholder. These accounts may be deposit accounts or loan or credit accounts. Payment cards can be distinguished on the basis of the features of each type of card, including:

Charge card[edit]

Main article: Charge card

A feature of charge cards is that the cardholder is required to pay the full balance of the statement amount, which is usually monthly. It is a form of a very short-term loan to cover the cardholder's purchases. The period of the loan is the period between the purchase and the statement date plus the period that the cardholder has to pay the account, a potential period of usually up to 55 days. Interest is usually not charged on charge cards and there is usually no limit on the total amount that may be charged. A partial payment (or no payment) may result in a late payment fee, the possible restriction of future transactions and a potential cancellation of the card.

Credit card[edit]

Main article: Credit card

A feature of a credit card is that the issuer of the card creates a line of credit for the cardholder on which the cardholder can draw (i.e., borrow) for payment to a merchant in making a purchase or as a cash advance to the cardholder. Most credit cards are issued by or through local banks or credit unions, but some non-bank financial institutions also offer cards directly to the public.

Unlike charge cards, where the cardholder is required to pay the balance in full each month, credit cards allow the cardholder to 'revolve' their line of credit, at the cost of having interest charged. Many credit cards can be used to make cash advances through ATMs.

Debit card[edit]

Main article: Debit card
Purchasing by debit card




ATM card[edit]

A feature of an ATM card (known under a number of names) is that it can be used in an automated teller machine (ATM) for transactions such as deposits, cash withdrawals, obtaining account information, and other types of transactions, often through interbank networks. Most debit or credit cards may also be used as ATM cards. The use of a credit card to withdraw cash at an ATM is treated differently to an POS transaction, usually attracting interest charges from the date of the cash withdrawal. Charge and proprietary cards cannot be used as ATM cards.

Stored-value card[edit]

Main article: Stored-value card

A feature of a stored-value card is that a monetary value is stored on the card, and not in an externally recorded account and differs from prepaid cards where money is on deposit with the issuer similar to a debit card. One major difference between stored value cards and prepaid debit cards is that prepaid debit cards are usually issued in the name of individual account holders, while stored-value cards are usually anonymous.


Fleet card[edit]

Main article: Fleet card




Other types of payment cards include:



Originally charge account identification was paper-based. In 1959 American Express was the first charge card operator to issue embossed plastic cards which enabled cards to be manually imprinted for processing, making processing faster and reduced transcription errors. Though the imprinting method has been predominantly superseded, cards continue to be embossed in case a transaction needs to be processed manually. Cards conform to ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 standard, ISO/IEC 7811 on embossing, and have a bank card number complying with the ISO/IEC 7812 numbering standard.

Magnetic stripe card[edit]

Main article: Magnetic stripe card
An example of the reverse side of a typical debit card:

Magnetic stripes started to be rolled out on debit cards in the 1970s with the introduction of ATMs. The magnetic stripe stores card data which can be read by physical contact and swiping past a reading head. A number of International Organization for Standardization standards, ISO/IEC 7810, ISO/IEC 7811, ISO/IEC 7812, ISO/IEC 7813, ISO 8583, and ISO/IEC 4909, define the physical properties of the card, including size, flexibility, location of the magstripe, magnetic characteristics, and data formats. They also provide the standards for financial cards, including the allocation of card number ranges to different card issuing institutions.

Smart card[edit]

Main article: Smart card
Smart card used for health insurance in France



Proximity card[edit]

Main article: Proximity card
A proximity card



Re-programmable magnetic stripe card[edit]


See also[edit]


  1. ^ - Card Payments 
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