4 ms·
What are mechanical slide things? Like you swipe instead of use chip?
by dylz 10y ago
What are mechanical slide things? Like you swipe instead of use chip?
- nfriedly 10y agoI'm not certain that this is what the OP was referring to, but this is what I thought of: http://www.possupply.com/media/catalog/category/4850-CC-Imprinter.jpg http://www.possupply.com/media/catalog/category/4850-CC-Impr... It's a machine that you use with copy paper and slide it over the card. The name and numbers are raised up on most credit cards and leave an imprint on the paper. The cardholder then signs the paper. I've used them when I worked at a department store for customers who's magnetic strip had worn out to the point that our computers couldn't read the card. I imagine the main reasons for a taxi driver to use one is that 1) it's cheap and reliable, and 2) it works offline.
- SturgeonsLaw 10y agohttp://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bClUYQTPL._SL1000_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bClUYQTPL._SL1000_.j... They take an imprint of the embossed credit card details for later processing
- dylz 10y agoWhat is there to imprint? Most cards I see dont' seem to have raised lettering; it's just printed numbers on the back. Also, how does this work with chip-required cards?
- kalleboo 10y agoThis system was most commonly in the 90's and earlier. Back then all cards had raised letters. Many modern cards are online-only to reduce the rampant fraud possible with this old method.
- StevePerkins 10y agoI can't tell if you're being cheeky or are just really young. Up until the past decade or two, it was very common to process credit cards by placing the card onto a tray with a slip of paper over it, and swipe a pressure bar over the tray. This physically caused the digits on the card to make an impression on the paper: http://cdn.toptenreviews.com/rev/misc/articles/4734/type-or-swipe-4.jpg http://cdn.toptenreviews.com/rev/misc/articles/4734/type-or-... Many credit cards today simply have the digits printed on them in ink, rather than raised lettering, so I don't know how this would even work half the time today.
- thesimon 10y ago>Many credit cards today simply have the digits printed on them in ink, rather than raised lettering, so I don't know how this would even work half the time today. It wouldn't and a lot of debit cards I know - at least in Europe - are issued exactly for that reason: So they don't work without online authorization.
- rahimnathwani 10y agoI don't recall seeing a zip zap machine like that in the last 10 years.
- staticfish 10y agoclunk clunk
- meddlepal 10y agoI dont think I've seen a mechanical recorder since the late 90s and even then it was rare.
- schwarrrtz 10y agoThey're still kept around as a fallback in case the POS system goes down. At least, that was the case when I worked as a grocery store clerk 7-8 years ago.
- sdwisely 10y agoEFT used to go down at the store I worked at weekly midnight Monday morning for maintenance for a few hours. Processing them manually was the only option.
- roel_v 10y agoIt's rare but I've seen them < 5 years ago in remote locations where electricity isn't everywhere (like rural tourist destinations). I love them - makes me feel like I'm leading the travel high life in the 1970's. (same feeling I had when landing in Tunis national airport - cash exchange registers, competing with each other on rates! Actual coin operated pay phones! Loved it)