Plastic cards of banks have long been a part of the life of every modern person. And there are a number of reasons for this. Someone receives a salary, others receive a scholarship or material assistance on bank cards.
You can find out the types of bank cards, the conditions for their opening, use, closing methods, as well as the history of this financial product by reading this article. The most popular international systems that issue and support plastic cards will also be presented.
Origin and further history of development
Consider plastic cards, starting from the moment when the first bank cards began to appear.
Before the trade boom in America in the fifties of the last century, as well as throughout the world, money was used in two forms: cash and cashless.
If everything is clear with the first form, then we will focus on the second.
Non-cash money then consisted of checks and check books. A modern user of a plastic card understands all the negative aspects of using a checkbook:
- the possibility of fake;
- long registration of each operation;
- You should always carry a paper check with you, which can be easily ruined.
During that same American trade boom, when the number of trade transactions increased several times, the need to have a tool that would be more reliable than checks was greatly aggravated.
At first, bank cards looked like an ordinary piece of cardboard, on which the necessary information was indicated.
Gradually they improved, the level of protection increased.
In the form in which everyone is accustomed to see plastic cards today, they began to be produced in the mid-70s of the last century, immediately after the magnetic tape was invented.
What is a bank card?
Without going into financial terms, you can say quite simply - this is the key to a bank account with which you can perform the operations specified in the contract (withdraw and deposit funds, pay bills, etc.).
It is noteworthy that many people think that this piece of plastic belongs to the people who own the account. This is a mistake, since the true owner of the plastic card is its issuing bank. The person who owns the card account is just a card holder.
What does a bank card look like?
Today, all bank cards, regardless of manufacturer, have a standard shape and size. ISO 7810 is a standard that defines what bank cards should be. The types of bank cards below are different, but the following parameters are the same:
size - 85.6 by 53.98 mm;
the presence of magnetic tape;
possibly a chip;
on the front side there is a picture (background, image), as well as the logo of the payment system, card number, surname and name of its holder, month and year until which it is valid;
there is also a background on the back; in addition, there is a magnetic tape, an area for the signature of the card holder and a special secret code consisting of three or four digits.
Of course, there are some exceptions that depend on the issuing bank. For example, some financial institutions order printing of the holder’s photo on bank cards.
Types of Bank Cards
The classification of cards should be done in several groups in order to correctly disassemble them by type. So, by the type of payment system in which the cards function, they are:
In relation to the card account:
By type of print:
For possible operations, you can divide the cards into:
settlement or debit;
credit;
prepaid bank cards.
Types of bank cards can be divided by status and level of services provided as follows:
instant (unnamed);
standard;
gold;
platinum;
premium class.
Upon the fact of physical existence:
Local cards are a payment tool that works only in one payment system, operating on the territory of one state.
International, in turn, allow you to make payments around the world, with the ability to interact with other payment systems.
The most popular international payment systems are Visa (global market share - more than 50%) and MasterCard (about 30% of all plastic cards in the world). In third place is American Express, which occupies about 18%. An example of a card issued in the Russian Federation, which is valid worldwide, is the Tinkoff Bank debit card .
To one card account both primary and secondary cards can be issued. The holder of the main card must be the owner of the card account.
Holders of additional cards can be anyone, but must be the consent of the owner of the card account.
Embossed Cards
Such cards can last longer than unembossed ones, due to the fact that the number and validity of the card, as well as the surname and name of its holder are not printed, but are squeezed out on plastic.
On regular cards, all labels are very quickly erased due to constant friction in the wallet, pocket and ATM. And the cards squeezed out by the embosser (special device) do not lose their appearance for quite some time.
What can be done with cards?
According to the above list of types of plastic cards, they can be divided into possible operations. Consider these types in more detail.
For example, two Visa Classic cards that are identical in appearance allow their holders to perform different operations. This is due to the fact that the class of a plastic card only partially determines the possibilities that are available to their carriers.
First of all, consider debit cards (settlement). They are used to access the bank’s own funds, which are placed on the card account.
The mechanism of their work is simple - first you need to deposit money or wait for the transfer to the account, then using the card you can use cash at any time where there is a corresponding terminal.
Some of them can also be called deposit. An example is the Tinkoff Bank debit card, which brings income to the holder due to the presence of an accumulative interest rate and various bonus programs.
Also, debit cards can be issued by banks with the support of trading networks. For example, the Corn card is a universal payment tool for goods and services on the Euroset network, as well as its partners.
Credit cards
There are also credit cards. Unlike the previous type, they are designed to use borrowed money. For example, you have a Mastercard credit card with an amount of 10 thousand rubles.
When your own funds are running out, you can withdraw additional funds from this card taking into account the limit of 10,000 r. According to the terms of the contract, you will have to return these funds to the financial institution by depositing money on a bank card and pay a commission in the form of interest for their use, if this is stipulated by the contract.
They can be very different, depending on how the bank will accrue interest on the loan. For example, there are preferential credit cards for which you need to pay interest only in case of non-return of funds during a special period called a preferential one. Usually it is 30-40 days.
Prepaid bank cards are nothing more than an ordinary gift certificate, only a more universal type. With this card, you can make purchases in a particular store that supports this service.
That is, you can order a prepaid card for 5 thousand rubles, give it to a person who can pay it exactly the same amount when buying goods in the specified store. The principle of operation is the same as that of gift certificates.
Different level of cards
The same debit cards can still be divided into several types, depending on their level and the availability of additional options and the level of protection against financial fraud with them.
These levels often simply emphasize the status of their holder, which significantly differ from each other. Although there are exceptions.
The lowest level for instant (non-named) cards. They are not named because they do not belong to anyone. This is due to the fact that by ordering yourself such a bank card, you will receive it instantly. The bank orders them in advance, but they do not have a surname or a cardholder’s name. Such cards are most often issued for purchases in online stores.
Basic (standard) level
Then follows the standard level. It implies a Visa Classic or Mastercard Standart. They differ from instant cards by an increased level of security due to the embossed or unembossed printing of the surname and name of the card holder. Such cards are mainly used to pay wages to employees, scholarships, pensions and other material assistance.
Most often, gold cards are found in the form of Visa Gold or Mastercard Gold. The content of a plastic card of this level is not affordable for everyone, therefore it is already considered a status one, unlike the previous ones. This level of cards may already include the presence of chips on the plastic itself, which significantly increases protection against fraud. In addition, there are banks that offer Visa Gold holders free property and health insurance.
Visa or Mastercard platinum cards are more status than gold. Their cost sometimes reaches amounts equal to several subsistence minimums, depending on the tariffs of banks. There are no strong differences from the previous level. Most often, this difference is manifested in an increased limit on various operations with the card.
And the highest level of cards is premium. The cost of servicing such cards is very high and can not afford the average person. This also determines the options (additional services) that the bank provides for free to holders of such cards. For example, this is a personal financial consultant and a personal hotline that you can call at any time.
The card can be virtual
As mentioned earlier, cards can be not only plastic, but also absolutely virtual, that is, existing only in a computer.
These are special cards that are issued in electronic form by banks exclusively for making payments on the Internet. After all, they need a minimum of information - this is the card code, expiration date and a special CVV2 code.
The choice should depend on the needs.
Knowing all the listed features of the cards, you can easily choose the right one for yourself. The most important thing is to correctly identify your needs. For example, why do you need a “credit card” if you are a wealthy person, as well as a “Corn” card, if you don’t use the services of Euroset or its partners?
Also note: the higher the class of the card, the more expensive it will cost you to maintain it. If you are a student, then you obviously do not need a gold card. And with frequent trips abroad and a fairly large turnover of personal funds without a platinum bank card, you can not do, given all the services that will be available to you.