The progression to numberless credit/debit cards
================================================

My post the other day about Wise's Eco card got me thinking about
credit and debit cards again. Not from a financial perspective but
more about changes in design, both where they are coming from and
where they lead.

~ Wise debit card and corporate green washing:
gopher://sdf.org/0/users/r0/phlog/2023-02-03_wise_and_corporate_green_washing.txt

I have since discovered that these cards without full account
information printed on them (like Wise's Eco card) are part of a wider
trend in the credit/debit card industry and are more generally called
"numberless cards" (with the Apple Card, Curve Investor and Chase [UK]
cards being other well known examples). While they clearly do have an
account number associated with them it is not visible on the card
itself (unlike traditional cards).

Cards have gone through three quick phrases in recent years: removal
of embossing, numbers moved to the back, no numbers. These are all
sort of linked, with each step leading to the next one making more
sense. In my own wallet I have cards that are embossed, not embossed
with numbers on the front, and not embossed with numbers on the back.
How long before I too have a numberless card and will I have all four
forms at the same time?

So how/why has this happened? My guess is the following. It starts
with the removal of embossing. Embossing was required in the past
before electronic banking became the norm. Embossing allowed the
details of the cards to be quickly copied at the point of sale using a
credit card imprinter.

~ Credit card imprinter [Wikipedia]:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card_imprinter

 ``
  The device works by placing the customer's credit card into a bed in
  the machine, then layering carbon paper forms over the card. A bar
  is slid back and forth over the paper to create an impression of the
  embossed card data and the merchant information on the imprinter.
  The customer signs these paper forms, with one copy as the customer
  receipt and the other kept by the merchant.


Embossing has stuck around a long time after imprinters were phased
out but at some point I guess the industry realised this was now
largely pointless. In fact just printing the number with ink and no
embossing improves readability because previously the ink used to
easily wear off embossed surfaces, making the card number harder to
read over time.

Once support for card imprinters via embossing had gone, I guess
someone realised that the account number did not have to remain in the
same place and indeed moving details to the back provides a few of
benefits.

* The front of the card is now a clean slate allowing for more
  design options. And humans being humans, an interesting or sleek
  design can be a huge selling point for a particular card.

* By moving the details to the back (and with no embossing) it is no
  longer possible for someone to read the numbers when looking at a
  face up card, giving a clear security benefit. This is especially
  helpful when people place their cards down at a restaurant and leave
  them there until the server returns to collect payment.

* In the past when account numbers were on the front, most Card
  Verification Value (CCV) numbers--3 or 4 extra digits used only with
  manually input payments--would remain on the back. This was done so
  that thieves couldn't lift all the important information just by
  looking at the front of the card. By moving all numbers to the back,
  this is no longer a problem since the front is visually secure. Plus
  the card owner gets the benefit of all information being in one
  place. Thus they do not need to flip the card to copy information
  when using it to manually fill out forms or providing details over
  the phone.

Which brings us now to numberless cards. By taking away even more
information there is even further, improved security. The card gives
no secrets away (visually), no matter which side it is up. Also, even
more design options are possible because of more space being
available. The obvious downside being, how will the user get the
account information when they need it? Luckily modern technology
solves this, the bank's website (and often also a dedicated phone app)
are able to display this. In addition password/account managers, and
payment apps can store it and even provide autofill capability on
websites that need it. Also sites one frequently visits will typically
offer to store details directly, meaning you would not have to look up
these numbers as often as was required historically.

That said, this last progression (numberless cards) is probably the
one the most likely to get push back from users who find numbers on
the card more convenient than using software to store and look them
up. So I guess it'll probably be a long time before all cards go
numberless.

And what will be the next trend after this? I suppose it will be the
removal of the magnetic strip. Like embossed numbers, these strips are
for a method of collecting payment that is dead in many places in the
world and dying out rapidly elsewhere. Indeed here in Norway (where I
live) it is not possible to use the magnetic strip anywhere that I
know of. The only time I use them is on trips to the US and even then
the frequency has been going down rapidly. I don't think I did this
once on my last trip there. Getting rid of the strip would already be
fine for many users and frees up even more space. Plus it makes
copying card information with simpler tools like magnetic skimmers
impossible. Indeed a quick search leads me to Mastercard announcing
the planned removal of these already, from next year in Europe (2024)
and from 2027 in the US.

~ Swiping left on magnetic stripes [Mastercard]:
https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2021/magnetic-stripe/

 ``
  By 2029, no new Mastercard credit or debit cards will be issued with
  a magnetic stripe.


Personally I am all for it. I love these simpler, design friendly and
more secure cards. The only thing I worry about is the obvious final
step where the cards are entirely virtual. Granted many people already
have purely virtual cards and just use Apple Pay and Google Pay on
their smartphones. My wife never carries any cards (or money!) and
relies solely on her phone but as a non smartphone user, that option
is not really a possibility for me right now. ;)

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