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In the last decade, the number of plastic cards has been growing at a very high rate. This is due to the ease of use and obtaining of cards and the reduction in the cost of their production. For example, today you can issue a bank plastic card within 15-20 minutes in almost any bank branch with a minimum list of documents, but a discount card can be issued to you free of charge and instantly. It is noteworthy that when we talk about plastic cards, we mean a bank credit or debit card, although we ourselves constantly use at least several types of cards.
Each type of card has its own history, advantages and disadvantages, purpose, features. And this small piece of plastic entered everyday life and firmly rooted in it due to its diminutiveness and the ability to quickly and easily identify the cardholder in retail outlets, banks and various places to provide him with a full range of services, discounts, privileges, etc.
All plastic cards can be divided into two types:
It follows from this that the first type of plastic cards is designed to work with money, and the second is not. Next, we will consider the subspecies of plastic cards in more detail.
Non-payment plastic cards
Non-payment plastic cards include those cards that do not work directly with money. This includes many types:
Discount plastic cards
Fashion boutiques, hotels, shops or other similar organization use discount cards to attract and retain customers. Discount cards give the right to purchase goods in this store (or other organization) with small discounts. In retail chains, discounts can reach 50% or more. Discount cards with an original design can be used both as a fashion accessory and as evidence of the cardholder's belonging to the buying community (possibly a privileged one).
Club cards
The same category includes corporate, trade union and similar cards. Club cards can sometimes be of great benefit to its owner. For example, in highly developed countries, residents are members of various car clubs and pay membership fees (up to 500 euros per year). Each car club member has his own club card, which indicates a unique membership number. If a person gets into a traffic jam, an accident or other non-standard situation, then he can call the club's phone number, give his membership number and an ambulance or repair service will be sent to him free of charge. Sometimes a helicopter will arrive - anything can happen.
ID cards
Identification cards (they are also badges or badges) are designed to verify the identity of the owner, transfer information and restrict access. Usually, a photo of the owner, his full name, dates of issue and expiration, special numbers and other service marks are applied to access cards. Such cards are used in the same way as an electronic key and allow you to automate the accounting and access system at the enterprise or in any other institution. The owner of such a card can go to any place of the plant or organization on the territory of which the card is valid. Also, using this card, the manager can, if desired, track when, where and how long the cardholder was at the enterprise.
You can often find modern student and library cards made in the form of a plastic card. Their undoubted advantage is ease of use, the ability to store information about their owner and a high degree of protection against counterfeiting.
In the simplest case, badges with a photo and personal data about the cardholder can serve as passes. Badges are issued for employees of enterprises, shops, restaurants, for sales representatives, as well as for participants in exhibitions and other social events. Competent design and well-chosen colors allow making the badge an item worthy of representing its owner.
Payment plastic cards
The main purpose of plastic payment cards is to pay for goods and services, as well as receive cash from ATMs. The bulk of payment cards are issued by banks. Bank cards are divided into credit and debit cards.
Debit cards
Debit cards are most often used to receive wages. Every month, the cardholder receives a salary for it, and then either withdraws money from an ATM, or pays off the card, or saves and multiplies (on some cards there is such an opportunity). The presence of a salary card for an employee of the enterprise greatly simplifies the life of the accounting department. There is no longer the need to transport large sums of money on the payday.
Anyone can get a debit card at the bank - as a free supplement to a current account opened with the bank (for example, in the case of opening a deposit in a bank) or a loan taken. The debit card account can be deducted from your current account or interest from the deposit. From there, you can transfer money to a current account designed to repay a loan at a bank.
Thus, a debit card is a convenient way of interacting with a current account in a bank where the cardholder's funds are stored, with the ability to withdraw, deposit or transfer your money on the card to any other card or bank account.
A debit card makes it possible to use funds only within the limits of the available balance on the deposit account to which it is linked. The main function of debit cards is to replace paper money in settlements and make non-cash payments with the client's own funds. Accordingly, the owner of such a card will not be able to use the bank's credit money (unlike credit cards and debit cards with an allowed overdraft). Although sometimes unauthorized (technical) overdraft is possible.
Credit cards
A credit card differs from a debit card only in the presence of credit on the account. Credit funds, if necessary, can be used, but must be returned within a certain time, otherwise you will have to pay interest. A credit card is a modern financial instrument available to everyone, which significantly expands the concept of consumer credit as such. The holder of such a card can dispose of the credit funds of the bank that issued the card anytime, anywhere and as much as necessary - within the credit limit set by the bank. The advantages of a credit card can be found in the article of the same name.
Credit cards, in turn, can be embossed and non-embossed. The difference between them is the application of identification information to the front of the card. If letters and numbers are embossed on a credit card, it means that it is embossed. This can be useful for paying for services in places where there is no post-terminal or ATM. For example, you dined in a cafe somewhere in the wilderness, and now they bring you a calculation. You look into it and realize that you do not have enough cash to pay off. Then a credit card can help you out. You give your credit card to the cashier, who puts it into a device called an embosser, and on a special silicone material makes an imprint (slip) of the face of the card. Next, the cashier prints two checks with the amount to be withdrawn from the card, on which you sign. One check remains in the cafe, and the second, along with the slip, goes to the bank for payment.
In Russia, this practice has not taken root, which is associated with the relatively recent appearance of credit cards for the general population and the development of cellular communications and electronics - now any retail outlet can afford a miniature card reader.
Non-embossed plastic cards do not have any embossed information on their surface. Any information on the map is burned out. The main purpose of non-embossed plastic cards is electronic payments. Usually all personalized or personalized cards (the name and surname of the holder are engraved on the card), as well as some non-personalized ones (without the owner's name) are embossed.
Plastic cards of electronic payment systems
Many payment systems, including Webmoney and others, have their own plastic cards. These are, by and large, full-fledged credit cards. A feature of such cards is the fact that they are not tied to a bank account, but to an electronic wallet account of the payment system. Those. the cardholder spends money from his electronic wallet when paying. Currently, it is possible to withdraw funds from any payment system to a card of any bank, so the cards of electronic payment systems are rather a tribute to fashion and an advertising move of the company to promote its brand.
Service Cards
Service cards are designed to work with ATMs. With the help of such cards, collection, testing of the card reader, dispenser and other components of the ATM takes place. We will not go into details here, let narrowly focused specialists be engaged in this. One has only to say that service cards are the most capacious cards, with their help you can withdraw all the money from the ATM (these are handled by collectors). Similar service cards can be used for other technically complex and automatic devices.
In this article, we have briefly skimmed over the main types of plastic cards. We did not mention some cards: fuel, gift, advertising, insurance, business cards. But they can be attributed to the categories of plastic cards listed in the review.
You got the basic idea of modern plastic cards, but a more detailed description can be found on the pages of the site.
Each type of card has its own history, advantages and disadvantages, purpose, features. And this small piece of plastic entered everyday life and firmly rooted in it due to its diminutiveness and the ability to quickly and easily identify the cardholder in retail outlets, banks and various places to provide him with a full range of services, discounts, privileges, etc.
All plastic cards can be divided into two types:
- Payment;
- Non-payment.
It follows from this that the first type of plastic cards is designed to work with money, and the second is not. Next, we will consider the subspecies of plastic cards in more detail.
Non-payment plastic cards
Non-payment plastic cards include those cards that do not work directly with money. This includes many types:
- Discount;
- Club, corporate, trade union;
- Identification, individual, smart cards.
Discount plastic cards
Fashion boutiques, hotels, shops or other similar organization use discount cards to attract and retain customers. Discount cards give the right to purchase goods in this store (or other organization) with small discounts. In retail chains, discounts can reach 50% or more. Discount cards with an original design can be used both as a fashion accessory and as evidence of the cardholder's belonging to the buying community (possibly a privileged one).
Club cards
The same category includes corporate, trade union and similar cards. Club cards can sometimes be of great benefit to its owner. For example, in highly developed countries, residents are members of various car clubs and pay membership fees (up to 500 euros per year). Each car club member has his own club card, which indicates a unique membership number. If a person gets into a traffic jam, an accident or other non-standard situation, then he can call the club's phone number, give his membership number and an ambulance or repair service will be sent to him free of charge. Sometimes a helicopter will arrive - anything can happen.
ID cards
Identification cards (they are also badges or badges) are designed to verify the identity of the owner, transfer information and restrict access. Usually, a photo of the owner, his full name, dates of issue and expiration, special numbers and other service marks are applied to access cards. Such cards are used in the same way as an electronic key and allow you to automate the accounting and access system at the enterprise or in any other institution. The owner of such a card can go to any place of the plant or organization on the territory of which the card is valid. Also, using this card, the manager can, if desired, track when, where and how long the cardholder was at the enterprise.
You can often find modern student and library cards made in the form of a plastic card. Their undoubted advantage is ease of use, the ability to store information about their owner and a high degree of protection against counterfeiting.
In the simplest case, badges with a photo and personal data about the cardholder can serve as passes. Badges are issued for employees of enterprises, shops, restaurants, for sales representatives, as well as for participants in exhibitions and other social events. Competent design and well-chosen colors allow making the badge an item worthy of representing its owner.
Payment plastic cards
The main purpose of plastic payment cards is to pay for goods and services, as well as receive cash from ATMs. The bulk of payment cards are issued by banks. Bank cards are divided into credit and debit cards.
Debit cards
Debit cards are most often used to receive wages. Every month, the cardholder receives a salary for it, and then either withdraws money from an ATM, or pays off the card, or saves and multiplies (on some cards there is such an opportunity). The presence of a salary card for an employee of the enterprise greatly simplifies the life of the accounting department. There is no longer the need to transport large sums of money on the payday.
Anyone can get a debit card at the bank - as a free supplement to a current account opened with the bank (for example, in the case of opening a deposit in a bank) or a loan taken. The debit card account can be deducted from your current account or interest from the deposit. From there, you can transfer money to a current account designed to repay a loan at a bank.
Thus, a debit card is a convenient way of interacting with a current account in a bank where the cardholder's funds are stored, with the ability to withdraw, deposit or transfer your money on the card to any other card or bank account.
A debit card makes it possible to use funds only within the limits of the available balance on the deposit account to which it is linked. The main function of debit cards is to replace paper money in settlements and make non-cash payments with the client's own funds. Accordingly, the owner of such a card will not be able to use the bank's credit money (unlike credit cards and debit cards with an allowed overdraft). Although sometimes unauthorized (technical) overdraft is possible.
Credit cards
A credit card differs from a debit card only in the presence of credit on the account. Credit funds, if necessary, can be used, but must be returned within a certain time, otherwise you will have to pay interest. A credit card is a modern financial instrument available to everyone, which significantly expands the concept of consumer credit as such. The holder of such a card can dispose of the credit funds of the bank that issued the card anytime, anywhere and as much as necessary - within the credit limit set by the bank. The advantages of a credit card can be found in the article of the same name.
Credit cards, in turn, can be embossed and non-embossed. The difference between them is the application of identification information to the front of the card. If letters and numbers are embossed on a credit card, it means that it is embossed. This can be useful for paying for services in places where there is no post-terminal or ATM. For example, you dined in a cafe somewhere in the wilderness, and now they bring you a calculation. You look into it and realize that you do not have enough cash to pay off. Then a credit card can help you out. You give your credit card to the cashier, who puts it into a device called an embosser, and on a special silicone material makes an imprint (slip) of the face of the card. Next, the cashier prints two checks with the amount to be withdrawn from the card, on which you sign. One check remains in the cafe, and the second, along with the slip, goes to the bank for payment.
In Russia, this practice has not taken root, which is associated with the relatively recent appearance of credit cards for the general population and the development of cellular communications and electronics - now any retail outlet can afford a miniature card reader.
Non-embossed plastic cards do not have any embossed information on their surface. Any information on the map is burned out. The main purpose of non-embossed plastic cards is electronic payments. Usually all personalized or personalized cards (the name and surname of the holder are engraved on the card), as well as some non-personalized ones (without the owner's name) are embossed.
Plastic cards of electronic payment systems
Many payment systems, including Webmoney and others, have their own plastic cards. These are, by and large, full-fledged credit cards. A feature of such cards is the fact that they are not tied to a bank account, but to an electronic wallet account of the payment system. Those. the cardholder spends money from his electronic wallet when paying. Currently, it is possible to withdraw funds from any payment system to a card of any bank, so the cards of electronic payment systems are rather a tribute to fashion and an advertising move of the company to promote its brand.
Service Cards
Service cards are designed to work with ATMs. With the help of such cards, collection, testing of the card reader, dispenser and other components of the ATM takes place. We will not go into details here, let narrowly focused specialists be engaged in this. One has only to say that service cards are the most capacious cards, with their help you can withdraw all the money from the ATM (these are handled by collectors). Similar service cards can be used for other technically complex and automatic devices.
In this article, we have briefly skimmed over the main types of plastic cards. We did not mention some cards: fuel, gift, advertising, insurance, business cards. But they can be attributed to the categories of plastic cards listed in the review.
You got the basic idea of modern plastic cards, but a more detailed description can be found on the pages of the site.
