Sunday, April 15, 2018

This Is Why All Credit Cards Are the Same Size


The person sitting next to you probably doesn’t have the same amount of 

credit card debt that you do, but one thing about both of your credit cards—

and every credit card—is the same. The size.
The idea of credit cards has been around since the 1900s. The first major 

bank to put one on the market was Bank of America in 1958. You might think 

that the first credit cards were made to conveniently fit into a wallet, but they 

are actually made to fit specific standards set by the International 

Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The ISO sets standards for everything from toy safety to credit card 

sizes. ISO/IEC 7810:2003 outlines the dimensions of identification cards. 

This standard was developed by both the ISO and the International 

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Credit cards, debit cards, and ATM cards 

fall under the ID-1 category, meaning that they are required to be 85.6 mm x 

53.98 mm or 3.375 in × 2.125 in. All identification cards, no matter the 

category, have to be .76 mm thick.
Credit cards have continued to change a lot over the years, but their 

dimension requirements will remain the same. From running your credit card 

through a small roller to get a copy of the numbers on the card, to swipingthe 

magnetic stripe, to inserting cards into chip readers, the technology is always 

being updated.
Now that you know all about the requirements of credit cards, learn more 

about how to use them safely.


















0 comments:

Post a Comment