
Mastercard is getting rid of its credit cards' magnetic stripes
CNN
Mastercard is getting rid of magnetic stripes on its credit and debit cards over the next 10 years, part of a broader push from the company to use "more capable and secure" alternatives to the old-fashioned swipe.
The company said it's the first payments network to phase out magnetic stripes, which debuted in the 1960s and allowed banks to store information on a piece of metallic tape adhered to the card. But with newer card technologies in wide use, including contactless payments, microchips and biometric identification, the mag stripe is "reaching its expiration date," Mastercard said in a blog post last week. Card swipes aren't going away just yet. Newly issued Mastercards are still required to have magnetic stripes. But in 2024, they will become optional, and Mastercard will no longer issue cards with magnetic stripes by 2029. They'll be completely eliminated by 2033. The roughly decade-long timeline "leaves a long runway for the remaining partners who still rely on the technology to phase in chip card processing," the company explained.
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