Portable Magnetic Card Reader

Magnetic card readers have been long in use by governmental and banking institutions as well as businesses. Initially invented for credit card payment processing, magnetic card readers are now used for POS transaction processing, control access to secure areas as well as read information on smart cards such as student and employee ID cards, driver licences or loyalty cards.

Data in a magnetic card is recorded magnetically and requires a card reader to decipher the encrypted information. Data on the card varies, depending on the purpose of the card. The card reader is constructed with built-in micro controller, software and hardware which enable the reading function.

Portable magnetic card readers have made it possible for mobility and enables information reading, recording and collection at any place and time. It is a greatly enhanced way of handling transactions and payments or checking identity and authorization cards, thus removing the hassle and inconvenience of traditional methods.

There are three types of portable magnetic card readers – digital, wireless and contact-less. The digital portable card reader comes with a card swipe or signature screen, keypad and printer. This reader has to be connected to a wired network through a computer.

The wireless and contact-less card readers can perform transactions through any wireless connection. The contact-less reader is constructed with advanced technology; reading of information is enabled through radio frequencies. The customer or card holder is required to just tap or wave the cards at the reader.

Some of the popular wireless magnetic card readers are the Apriva BT200 Bluetooth, Mini400B Bluetooth and MSR500. These wireless card readers are portable and powered by rechargeable batteries. The Mini400B and MSR500 store swiped information in a built-in memory, which can be transferred to a computer.