Location of the embossing and magnetic strip

If the card contains a magnetic stripe, it is located at the top edge on the back of the card. In accordance with the standard, the magnetic stripe and embossing zones do not overlap.
Among the financial data that is stamped on the card, the most important is the card identification number. It represents the sequence of digits and is defined by the IS0/IEC 7812 standard. Note that the card identification number is equivalent to the Primary Account Number (or PAN), which is entered by the IS0/IEC 4909 standard. Therefore, we will refer to the PAN as the card identification number, calling it the card number.
The PAN card number has a maximum length of 19 decimal digits and consists of three parts: the Issuer identification Number (IIN), the account identification number, and the verification symbol.
The Issuer’s identification number consists of b digits. The first digit of the IIN represents the main industry identifier (Major Industry Identifier), indicating the industry affiliation of the card Issuer:
— a sign reserved for the designation of a new from industry affiliation;
— airlines;

  • airlines and other future industries.
  • tourism and entertainment;
  • banking / financial transactions;
  • banking / financial transactions;
  • trading/banking operations;
  • filling operations;
  • telecommunications and other future industries;
  • determined by national standardization bodies.

  • The remaining five digits of the IIN are called the Issuer ID and identify the specific Issuer.
    The following PAN digits (up to and including the penultimate digit, up to a maximum of 12 digits) represent the customer’s account identification number.
    Finally, the last digit of the card number is a verification symbol calculated based on all previous digits of the identification number using an algorithm called the Luhn formula (or Luhn Check Parity) and determined according to the Annex to the ANSI/IS0/IEC 7812 standard.
    In addition to the card number, other data that is embossed on the card include the card’s expiration date and the name of the card holder. The validity period of the card determines the month and year after which the card is considered invalid.
    The ANSI/ISO/IEC 7811-2 standard defines the recording methods used to encode characters on the ID-1 card’s magnetic stripe. The card’s magnetic stripe can store data on three tracks. The first and second tracks are intended only for reading the information recorded on them. The third track is used for reading/writing information related to transaction processing. The first and second track formats are defined in IS0/IEC 7813. The format of the third track is defined in the IS0/IEC 4909 standard.
    The first track can contain up to 79 alphanumeric characters encoded with a write density of 8.27 bits / mm (210 bits per inch). The second track can accommodate up to 40 alphanumeric characters encoded with a write density of 2.95 bits / mm (75 bits per inch). The first and second tracks are intended for storing the card identification information once recorded on them for the purpose of reading it repeatedly during the execution of transactions.
    The third track is a means of storing repeatedly written information for the purpose of reading it and modifying it during the execution of a transaction. It can hold up to 107 characters encoded at a density of 8.27 bits / mm (210 bits per inch).
    The content of each track includes a long Redundancy control symbol that can be used by the card reader to detect errors in information read from the card. (For more information about the contents of the card’s magnetic track records, see the next section of the book.)
    On the front side, the logo of the financial institution and the trademark of the payment system are printed. In addition, the front side of the card usually contains a hologram with a certain symbol of the payment system, and there may also be special elements that are visible only in ultraviolet rays. On the front side of the chip (microprocessor) card is a chip, the location of which is defined in the ISO 7816-1 standard.
    On the back of the card, under the magnetic stripe, there is a signature panel, on which the card holder puts his signature. The panel is made of a special material and
    any attempt to modify the signature will become obvious — large letters with the inscription VOID (invalid, canceled) appear on the signature panel.
    The Issuer can place additional information on the signature panel. As a rule, this information is used as a special three-digit code CVC2/CVV2, used in voice authorization operations and CNP-transactions, as well as the card number (or part of it).
    Sometimes a photo of the card holder is placed on the back of the card.

Track content of the card’s magnetic stripe

The first track of the magnetic stripe contains information that is stamped on the card (PAN card number, card expiration date, card holder’s name), as well as the card’s service code, country code (for some categories of card numbers), and special data of the Issuer. At the end of the track is a check symbol.
The service code consists of three digits:
The first digit defines the geography (inter-country and intra-country operations are allowed) and the technology (magnetic stripe card, microprocessor card) of using the card. For example, the values of the first digit of the code 1 and 5 indicate that a magnetic stripe card is used for inter-country and intra-country operations, respectively. Values 2 and 6 indicate the use of the microprocessor card for inter-country and intra-country operations, respectively.
The second digit defines the Issuer’s requirements for authorization of transactions made using the card. In particular, it determines whether online transaction authorization is required by the card Issuer.
The third digit defines the list of services available with this card, as well as the method of verification of the cardholder. Possible examples of combinations of service / verification method: cash withdrawal/P1M code. any yaiyra / PIN code, purchase of goods and services/ any verification method.
The Issuer’s special data defines:
data used to protect card transactions; these include the values of CVC/CVV values that ensure the integrity of certain data elements of the card’s magnetic track, and the PIN Offset value used when calculating the cardholder’s PIN code;
card sequence number — a number that allows you to attach several different cards to a single PAN;
operational characteristics of the card used by the Issuer when authorizing operations on the card, such as the date on which the card is valid.
The second track includes the same data as the first track, except for the name of the cardholder. If you use a credit card, the name of the cardholder must be printed on the POS terminal receipt. Therefore, for credit products, either the first track or the first and second tracks of the magnetic stripe are personalized (to improve the reliability of reading information from the magnetic stripe), while for debit cards, only the second shorter track is usually personalized.
The third track of the magnetic stripe contains:
PAN card number, country code (for some categories of card numbers), card expiration date, card sequence number;
geographical use of the card (international card, intra-country card);
account type (current, savings, credit).
You can write two additional account numbers on the third track of the card. If during the operation it turns out that there are not enough funds in the main account of the PAN card, the Issuer checks the availability of the necessary funds in additional accounts.
Unlike the first and second tracks, data can be written to the third track during the execution of a transaction. This gives you additional opportunities to control expenses on the card and ensure the security of operations.
For example, you can set the amount of funds that can be spent during a given time interval and control how much money is spent while using the card. In the result-
Tata on the third track will be recorded parameters such as end date of the current time cycle, the current value is available for use by the card cash amount which may be spent before the end of this cycle, the value that ensures the data integrity of the third track and the signature changed during the operation of the data paths.
Finally, using the third track, you can control the number of remaining attempts to enter the correct PIN code, and store the date of the last card operation. It should be noted that changing the parameters of the third track of the magnetic stripe at the command of the card Issuer is possible only in the Association of banks that support additional fields in the interbank interface. For example, such changes cannot be made using standard interfaces of international payment systems.
The third track has not been widely used, and almost all modern POS terminals do not use it to record data.