There are a growing number of places that require a card swipe these days. From health clubs front desks to paying for meals at a restaurant, there are many times when mag stripe readers are used. In fact, an increasing number of businesses track their members loyalty numbers with a smart card reader.
In addition to payments and memberships, scanners are also used in a variety of other places. In fact, a growing number of businesses require their workers to use a digital card reader when they come into work. By no longer using keys, these companies are able to track the arrival of workers and make sure that no keys are lost. In fact, magnetic ID card readers also help hospitals track the content of prescription drugs by checking the people who come and go from any kind of supply cabinet while delivering prescribed medications.
Because of the increased use of cards, it should come as no surprise that there is an increased market for various kinds of card readers. From stand alone image scanners at amusement parks to table top scanners at restaurants, there are a number of different kinds of these mag stripe readers. Magnetic readers and lottery scanners are some of the top selling models, but there are always a variety of options that are available.
Even when you are at the airport you will experience card scanners. From the security agent who scans your passport to the gate agent who scans your ticket, it is important to make sure that scanners are functioning and accurate. Consider some of these facts and figures about the card scanning industry and the various ways that it helps the nation’s economy:
- 38% of growing companies plan to invest in RFID technology over the next 12 months, according to a 2016 study conducted by the Peerless Research Group.
- A single magnetic strip on a credit card or ID card can hold personal details such as name and account number. In fact, the strip can store as many as 60 characters magnetically.
- It has been estimated that each individual office worker in America uses as many as 10,000 sheets of paper a year. Requiring these workers to use a document scanner, however, can help an office reduce paper waste by making sure that every copy is connected to a person.
- As many as 218 million people had driver’s licenses in America in the year 2015. A magnetic card reader can scan these cards and make sure that there are no outstanding tickets in the event that someone is pulled over.
- 43% of respondents said they prefer to make purchases with a debit card in a survey from the year 2014. Another 35% indicate that they prefer to pay with a credit card.
- Equipping field service workers with proper technology helps boosts efficiency. Some of the most important technologies they use include: Barcode scanning, used by 34% of these people, mobile payment options, used by 23%, and RFID, used by 17%.
Passport scanners keep us safe while we are at the airport and table top scanners allow us to quickly pay a hospital bill when we are finished with our meals. In fact, it is a growing number of companies and institutions use card readers to make their work places more effective and efficient. As technology develops to the point where scanners can now read bar codes on our phones, we are moving one step closer to a paperless society. The technology used by mag stripe readers continues to have a major impact on the daily lives that we lead.