4 ms·

I 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 o

I 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 ago
I don't recall seeing a zip zap machine like that in the last 10 years.
- staticfish 10y ago
  clunk clunk
meddlepal 10y ago
I dont think I've seen a mechanical recorder since the late 90s and even then it was rare.
- schwarrrtz 10y ago
  They'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 ago
    EFT 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 ago
  It'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)
- Leynos 10y ago
  The taxi drivers in Edinburgh used them until about 8 years ago. Then they were replaced with mobile phone based payment, then finally with chip and pin. When they used the mechanical impression machines, they wouldn't accept card payment from on-street pickups due to the risk of fraud (as perceived by the driver). The other place I saw one used c2008 was when buying a ticket from a guard on the platform at Kings Cross after I missed my train. Then the ticket price didn't show up on my online card statement for about a month.
- pandler 10y ago
  The only time I've seen one (actually the first time I learned about them) was at an outdoor market where I bought some handmade jewelry. The woman kept it around as a novelty alternative to her phone-dongle card reader.

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 ago

I don't recall seeing a zip zap machine like that in the last 10 years.

staticfish 10y ago
clunk clunk

meddlepal 10y ago

I dont think I've seen a mechanical recorder since the late 90s and even then it was rare.

schwarrrtz 10y ago
They'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 ago
  EFT 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 ago
It'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)
Leynos 10y ago
The taxi drivers in Edinburgh used them until about 8 years ago. Then they were replaced with mobile phone based payment, then finally with chip and pin. When they used the mechanical impression machines, they wouldn't accept card payment from on-street pickups due to the risk of fraud (as perceived by the driver). The other place I saw one used c2008 was when buying a ticket from a guard on the platform at Kings Cross after I missed my train. Then the ticket price didn't show up on my online card statement for about a month.
pandler 10y ago
The only time I've seen one (actually the first time I learned about them) was at an outdoor market where I bought some handmade jewelry. The woman kept it around as a novelty alternative to her phone-dongle card reader.