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0 pointsj16sdiz1y ago0 comments

Not exactly. Some transactions are cryptographically authenticated. "The algorithm" looks at those bits. Transactions with proper chips authentication are less likely to be flagged as fraud

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viraptor1y ago

Also the embossed numbers are not that common in countries outside the US. For quite a while the numbers themselves are also disappearing from the front. (If you even use the physical card rather than your phone)

bboygravity1y ago

I remember being mind-blown on my first trip to the US when a taxi driver took my card and literally carbon copied it manually (with a pencil and carbon copy booklet) on the spot.

I had been using my credit card for at least a decade (Europe) and it never ever occured to me that the embossed letters had any function other than aesthetic.

And the cheques... jaw drop

robin_reala1y ago

That is how they used to work though. I’m old enough to remember imprinters, which literally used the embossed numbers to create a carbon copy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card_imprinter

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chgs1y ago

That was how things worked back in the 80s and 90s, online or chip systems were in place 20 years ago in Europe

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