Everyone is familiar with the dark stripe on the back of their credit & debit cards, which is read when you “swipe” the card at the cash register. InstantCard can provide you with similar magstripe cards, which allows you to read data from the card using a USB reader. This data can be integrated into a computer program which thereby immediately knows the identity of the person carrying the card. This technology is relatively easy to implement, as a first step towards an auto identification employee ID badge program.
The standard magstripe has three tracks, which can each carry a fairly substantial amount of numeric or alphanumeric data. A typical use might be, for example, to encode a card with an employee or member number, allowing the system to identify the holder for immediate processing. Magstripe readers are readily available at a very low cost. Once encoded, data held in magnetic form will remain readable for many, many years. While the data held in the magstripe is not particularly secure, adequate security is normally built into the website or computer program.
The InstantCard system can be set up to encode one, two, or all three of the tracks on the back of the card. One track could, for example, contain an identification number, while the second track can contain the holder’s name. Don’t hesitate to call us to discuss how magstripe technology can be used to provide an efficient, low-cost method of identification in your organization.
