The term digital card can refer to a physical item, such as a memory card on a camera, or, increasingly since 2017, to the digital content hosted
as a virtual card or cloud card, as a digital virtual representation of a physical card. They share a common purpose: Identity Management, Credit card, Debit card or driver license. A non-physical digital card, unlike a Magnetic stripe card can emulate (imitate) any kind of card.
Front side of the first Magnetic Stripe plastic credit card. Note that the narrow magnetic stripe is on the front of the card. It was later switched to the back side.
Visualization of magnetically stored information on a magnetic stripe card (recorded with CMOS-MagView, dark colors correspond to magnetic north, light colors correspond to magnetic south)
The first prototype of magnetic stripe card created by IBM in the late 1960s. A stripe of cellophane magnetic tape is fixed to a piece of cardboard with clear adhesive tape
Front side of the first magnetic stripe plastic credit card. Note that the narrow magnetic stripe is on the front of the card. It was later switched to the back side.
A credit card is a payment card, usually issued by a bank, allowing its users to purchase goods or services or withdraw cash on credit. Using the card thus accrues debt that has to be repaid later. Credit cards are one of the most widely used forms of payment across the world.
Metal signs at a plant nursery in Los Angeles County, California marketing Mastercharge and Bankamericard
Receipt from 1997 – card physically swiped and information imprinted on the receipt
Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are card-issuing entities that set transaction terms for merchants, card-issuing banks, and acquiring banks.
An example of street markets accepting credit cards. Most simply display the acceptance marks (stylized logos, shown in the upper-left corner of the sign) of all the cards they accept.
