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Credit card design trends are ever-changing, but most cards share several features, including (but not limited to) the issuer name, the network, the cardholder’s name, and the card number.
This is the bank that issued the credit card. You apply to this bank to get the card, and it determines card details like reward points and benefits. In this case, Bank of America just relies on the card name to indicate the issuing bank.
This is the name of this specific credit card. Card names often begin with the name of the issuing bank followed by the particular card name, but in the above case “Bank of America” and “Credit Card” are stylized into “BankAmericard,” the word they use to begin most of their card names, followed by the name of this particular card: “Cash Rewards.”
This is the credit card network and level of service associated with this card. If this card were of Visa Signature status, it would say so right here. The credit card network is responsible for processing payments made with the card, and there are 4 of them:
Visa and Mastercard are the world’s largest credit card networks, and while they’re both accepted far and wide, they do have some differences. Fortunately, those differences are slight enough that there’s seldom any need to worry about choosing one over the other.
The name of the owner of the card.
This is the identifying number associated with this particular card. It is stored in the magnetic strip. When you swipe your card at a terminal or reader, your number provides information about the credit card network and the issuer.
Credit card numbers are assigned by the American National Standards Institute and the ISO or the International Organization for Standardization.
Your account number consists of up to sixteen digits and is allocated by your card issuer. Some cards have only seven digits.
There’s actually a ton of information contained in a credit card number. This information isn’t really necessary for understanding how to use a credit card, it’s just here so you can learn for fun. The ISO or the International Organization for Standardization categorizes the numbers like so:
Digits 1 – 6: Issuer Identifier Numbers
Digits 2 – 6: Provide an identifier for a particular institution
Digits 7 – 15: Unique Personal Identifiers
Digit 16: Check Digit
The rest of the digits are also different for each card network:
For Visa cards:
For Mastercard cards:
For American Express cards:
This chip is an alternative method of holding the cardholder’s information, in addition to the magnetic stripe (which is on the back of the card). It is a more secure and modern form of information storage, providing better protection against fraud.
This is known as EMV technology, which stands for “Europay, Mastercard, Visa.” This is the global standard for this chip technology, which comes in two forms:
Chip-and-Signature cards require your signature to complete a transaction, while Chip-and-PIN cards use a PIN that you create, much like a debit card. Credit cards can be either one of these types, or both. It is most common to find only Chip-and-Signature cards in the U.S. as of now, but that situation is changing and more cards will be enabled with both in the future.
Instead of swiping the credit card through a groove, you insert a chip-enabled card into a slot on the reader, usually on the bottom, and leave the card there until you are prompted to remove it. This is referred to as “card dipping.”
Credit cards issued in the United States are required by law to be chip-enabled by the beginning of October, 2015, and at that date merchants who do not comply with the new standards by providing the correct technology for the chip cards will be held liable for fraudulent credit card activity.
Learn much more about EMV, Chip-and-Signature, and Chip-and-PIN technology here »
The year that this credit card account was opened. Not all cards will show this information.
The date at which this particular card will expire. This does not mean that the credit account is closed; instead, this usually only means that it’s time to get a new card. The new card will automatically be mailed to you by the credit card issuer and will have a new expiration date and CVV code, and sometimes a new account number.
In some cases, however, credit card issuers also use this time to analyze the credit of the cardholder, and potentially make decisions about the card terms such as lowering your credit limit, increasing the interest rate, suspending the account, or even closing the account.
However, keep in mind that issuers can take any of these actions if they deem it necessary at any time, and don’t need to wait until the expiration date. The date only gives the issuer a predefined end to the relationship if they choose to end it.
If your credit reports show responsible financial behavior, you don’t have to worry about any of these negative, or adverse, actions. Instead, you will probably be mailed a new card with new details well ahead of the expiration date, because the card issuer recognizes you as a good customer and wants to keep you around.
Cards have an expiration date:
Learn more about expiration dates in our Q&A Video: Why Do Credit Cards Expire?
Also known as the magstripe, this black bar holds all of your account information. It’s made of millions of tiny magnetic particles. When you swipe your card through a card reader terminal, the reader gets your account information from the magstripe and uses it to process the transaction.
If an ATM or card reader can’t accept your card, the problem is most likely:
If your card’s magstripe doesn’t work, you can call your card issuer to request a new card. There will usually be no charge for getting a replacement card for this reason.
What do ironing boards have to do with credit cards? You can read the fascinating story of how magnetic stripe technology was invented and put to use.
This code is a fraud-prevention tool, used when making card-not-present transactions, such as online purchases that don’t require you to actually have the physical credit card. You just need the information printed on it.
These are the opposite of those transactions where you actually use the plastic card, such as when checking out at a grocery store, where you would use the magstripe or chip.
CVV codes are a 3-digit number for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover cards, and a 4-digit number for Amex.
Learn more about how credit card security codes here.
The phone number on the back of your card is the best number to use for general customer service. If you have other services associated with your card that have their own direct phone numbers, like a personal concierge service, consider obtaining them all and writing them down or storing them in your phone. You can get help finding these numbers by calling the customer service line on the card.
This is another fraud-prevention tool, but this one rarely serves its purpose. The cardholder must sign their card here for the card to be legally valid, with the intention that this signature can be matched with a driver’s license or a signature given at the register when a purchase is made.
By matching the signatures or the name on the license, you can see that the person using the card is truly the owner of that card. However, merchants will rarely check to see if there is a signature here, and it’s even less common for them to double-check that name on a license. In many cases the retailer never even touches the credit card.
This hologram is a security feature meant to prevent the card from being physically copied. It contains several layers of images at different angles, giving it the illusion of some motion. There can also be other images hidden within these layers. The multiple layers and hidden images make the hologram difficult or impossible to copy with a scanner, so a true image can’t be created to print copies of the card with.
Some newer credit cards have been changing the traditional layout, and instead putting some or all of the information on the back of the card only.
Take a look at the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer (Review), which only has the cardholder name on the front.
securely on the issuer's website
Citi is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
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![]() It was impossible to clearly sign my name on this card |
A credit card is a physical payment card that allows consumers to borrow money to make purchases that must then be repaid. Credit cards generate money for card issuers by charging customers interest fees on their card balances (learn how interest can be avoided).
Beyond allowing cardholders to make purchases, credit cards often earn spending rewards and provide other benefits, from travel protections to concierge service. They’re known for their security benefits, too, generally offering $0 fraud liability policies and stronger federal protections than debit cards.
A credit card number is the string of numeric digits that identifies the credit card. It’s usually (but not always) displayed on the front of the card, and it generally (but not always) features 15 or 16 digits.
The digits of a card number correlate with a variety of information — the first digit identifies the credit card network, the second through sixth digits identify the financial institution, the seventh through fifteenth digits include unique identifiers related to the cardholder name and issuer, and the final digit is known as the “check digit,” which helps ensure the number was input properly.
Your security code — also known as your card verification value (CVV) — is usually visible on your physical credit card (there are exceptions, like the Apple Card).
With Visa, Mastercard, and Discover credit cards, your CVV is a three-digit number shown on the back of your card. American Express security codes, sometimes known as card identification numbers (CID), can be found to the upper-right of the credit card number on the front of the card.
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