An ATM card is a
payment card
Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner (the cardholder) to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and ...
or dedicated payment card issued by a
financial institution
Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial inst ...
(i.e. a bank) which enables a customer to access their financial accounts via its and others'
automated teller machine
An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fund ...
s (ATMs) and to make approved point of purchase retail transactions (i.e. gas stations, grocery, hardware, department stores, etc.) ATM cards are not
credit cards
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the ...
or
debit cards
A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but u ...
. ATM cards are payment card size and style
plastic card
A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but u ...
s with a
magnetic stripe
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 ...
and/or a plastic
smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...
with a
chip that contains a unique card number and some security information such as an expiration date or
CVVC (CVV). ATM cards are known by a variety of names such as bank card, MAC (money access card), client card, key card or cash card, among others. Other payment cards, such as debit cards and credit cards can also function as ATM cards. Charge and proprietary cards cannot be used as ATM cards. The use of a credit card to withdraw cash at an ATM is treated differently to a
point of sale
The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice f ...
transaction, usually attracting interest charges from the date of the cash withdrawal.
Interbank network
An interbank network, also known as an ATM consortium or ATM network, is a computer network that enables ATM cards issued by a financial institution that is a member of the network to be used to perform ATM transactions through ATMs that belo ...
s allow the use of ATM cards at ATMs of private operators and financial institutions other than those of the institution that issued the cards.
ATM cards can also be used on improvised ATMs such as "mini ATMs", merchants' card terminals that deliver ATM features without any
cash drawer. These terminals can also be used as cashless
scrip ATMs by cashing the receipts they issue at the merchant's point of sale.
The first ATM cards were issued in 1967 by
Barclays
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
[Jarunee Wonglimpiyara, ''Strategies of Competition in the Bank Card Business'' (2005), p. 1-3.]
Dimensions
The size of ATM cards is and rounded corners with a radius of 2.88–3.48 mm, in accordance with
ISO/IEC 7810#ID-1, the same size as other payment cards, such as credit, debit and other cards. They also have a printed or embossed
bank card number
A payment card number, primary account number (PAN), or simply a card number, is the card identifier found on payment cards, such as credit cards and debit cards, as well as stored-value cards, gift cards and other similar cards. In some situat ...
conforming with the
ISO/IEC 7812 numbering standard.
ATM uses
All ATMs, at a minimum, will permit cash withdrawals of customers of the machine's owner (if a bank-operated machine) and for cards that are affiliated with any ATM network the machine is also affiliated. They will report the amount of the withdrawal and any fees charged by the machine on the receipt. Most banks and credit unions will permit routine account-related banking transactions at the bank's own ATM, including deposits, checking the balance of an account, and transferring money between accounts.
Some ATM cards can also be used at a branch, as identification for in-person transactions.
The use of the ATM card for in store purchases or refunds is allowed only with pre-approved retailers, but not for on-line transactions.
For other types of transactions through
telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
or
online banking
Online banking, also known as internet banking, web banking or home banking, is an electronic payment system that enables customers of a bank or other financial institution to conduct a range of financial transactions through the financial ins ...
, this may be performed with an ATM card without in-person authentication. This includes account balance inquiries,
electronic bill payments, or in some limited cases, online purchases (see
Interac Online).
Card networks
ATM cards operate through specific networks. Interlink is just one example of the many ATM networks.
Canada's
Interac
Interac is a Canadian interbank network that links financial institutions and other enterprises for the purpose of exchanging electronic financial transactions. Interac serves as the Canadian debit card system and the predominant funds transf ...
and
Mastercard's
Maestro are examples of networks that link bank accounts with point-of-sale equipment.
Some debit card networks also started their lives as ATM card networks before evolving into full-fledged
debit card
A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but ...
networks such as
STAR (Interbank Network), and others such as:
Development Bank of Singapore
DBS Bank Limited, often known as DBS, is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at the Marina Bay Financial Centre in the Marina Bay district of Singapore. The bank was previously known as The De ...
(DBS)'s
Network for Electronic Transfers
Network for Electronic Transfers, colloquially known as NETS, is a Singaporean electronic payment service provider. Founded in 1985, by a consortium of local banks, it aims to establish the debit network and drive the adoption of electronic paym ...
(NETS) and
Bank Central Asia
PT Bank Central Asia Tbk, commonly known as Bank Central Asia (BCA) is an Indonesian bank founded on 21 February 1957. It is considered as the largest privately owned bank in Indonesia.
The Asian financial crisis in 1997 had a tremendous impact ...
(BCA)'s
Debit BCA, both of them were later on adopted by other banks (with
Prima Debit being the
Prima interbank network version of Debit BCA).
Misuse
Due to increased illegal copies of cards with a magnetic stripe, the
European Payments Council established a Card Fraud Prevention Task Force in 2003 that spawned a commitment to migrate all ATMs and POS applications to use a
chip-and-PIN solution by the end of 2010. The "SEPA for Cards"
"SEPA for Cards"
, the SEPA Cards Framework and EPC Cards Standardisation Programme, accessed 06. August 2010 has completely removed the magnetic stripe requirement from Maestro debit cards.
See also
* Payment card
Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner (the cardholder) to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and ...
* Credit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the ...
* Debit card
A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but ...
References
{{Credit cards
Payment cards
Automated teller machines