Open Forum → Cleaning mag stripe on cards

I got a new debit card sometime around February (my old one expired 3/13) and for the past couple of months the new card has been giving me read errors at terminals. Usually it's only the new terminals that give the most problem, older ones seem to work OK. I can sometimes get it to read if I clean the stripe with my shirt but usually what I have to do is stick it inside a plastic bag and swipe it that way. That's not a long term solution to me.

Yeah, I could request a new card but I've never had this issue with my older cards (the ones that just expired). I'm wondering if there is some cleaning solution I can use on it that won't destroy the stripe in the process (I figure things like bleach are out but plain old soap and water may be OK). It's not dirty really, just has smudges on it that don't seem to come off with shirt scrubbing. And it is definitely not scratched.

Yea but you never had THIS card as an older card. could just be a bad mag-strip or something. get a new card and see what happens.

Good point. Sometimes shit happens. I got two other new cards around the same time frame and while they aren't used as often, they don't have the same issues this one does. I just wanted to avoid having to call the bank since I apparently can't do it online. I can request a new card and I selected the "damaged" option and it tells me I have no eligible cards....

You can try a strip of clear tape on the strip. It has the same effect as putting a bag over the card.

I don't see how washing the card would damage it, so might just take a sponge to it with a small amount of dish soap.

I agree, though: get a new card. Chances are they'll even send it for free.

I didn't even think about the clear tape. Box tape would likely work best as it's going to have better adhesive and not come off and get stuck inside the gas pump or ATM lol.

Just wanted to update this. I finally got around to doing the clear tape on the card (used a cut to fit strip of box tape) and it works somewhat. The gas pump still had issues reading my card but the card reader at the cash register inside Kroger read it on the first try. I think I'll still push for a new card and probably put a strip of tape on it right away to keep it clean. Thanks for the idea!

Have to wonder how dirty those mag stripe head readers are and if anyone cleans the heads?

Actually it's just the opposite I think. Every old card reader I've come across reads my cards just fine, or at worse sometimes I have to swipe it up instead of down but it still works. It's the new card readers that I've had the most trouble with. It's like they're more sensitive or something?

Could be a Track 1 / Track 2 thing where the older readers are reading one of the tracks but the newer readers are trying to read the other or even both.

/M

Woah, learn something new every day. I didn't realize there were multiple tracks on a mag stripe. It's an interesting theory for sure.

I would use a piece of paper (receipt paper works)and not the plastic bags

since the plastic bags are NOT anti-static This could escalate the issue over time.

Everyone cleans the heads all the time (with their cards).

Could simply be a bad encoding where it was off a millimeter as it flew through machinery... just tell them the mag stripe is not working they will replace it for free.

Probably has a scratch on it that some terminals pick up. Get a new card.

The readers get very dirty. They really should be cleaned weekly, but it's not uncommon for them to go months without being cleaned. They make cleaning cards that are basically a felt card soaked in rubbing alcohol.

Just call the customer service number on the back of the card and tell them that you are having trouble using the card in card readers. You'll have a new card in a few days. They WANT you to have a card that works easily because they make a little money every time you use it.

I've seen this happen several times (not with my card) in stores and the cashier got out a plastic bag and tried it. So, it's a problem that they know about. Where the problem is, I don't know.

An analogy I could use here is; everyone cleans the heads all the time on my VCR (with their tapes). Tapes get grungy, along with cards. This will transfer onto the reader head.

And that was my point

Cleaning the card can help. But most people aren't going to do that. A dirty card will transfer dirt/residue onto the reader head. So I think my point was lost on you somewhere.

Was the card mailed to you or issued in the branch. I used to have TD Bank and they issued the cards in the branch and those things wore out like clockwork. I had to replace them every year.

My current bank (Berkshire Bank) mails the cards. They last much longer.

My biggest complaint is its a MasterCard debit and some merchants throw a fit on MasterCard debit like vending machines.

It's possible the card is defective, just go to the bank and request a replacement.

It's mailed. The bank is USAA and AFAIK they only have branches in San Antonio so I couldn't get it in a branch anyway. I was actually able to request a new card a few days ago and should be here shortly.

Bad thing is some banks charge for a new card unless it is expired. My card physically broke in half, and I was told I had to pay to replace it. A few idle threats and they waived the charge... but still...

Ouch, thankfully no charge here. There's a charge for expedited delivery but regular mail is free.

Find a new bank. Seriously, I get a new card 2-3 times a year. The ink wears off the raised numbers and makes them really hard to read when I'm ordering stuff online. Chase has no problem sending me a new one.

I had my old BofA card memorized. Could tell you the full 16 digit number, expiration and CVC right off the top of my head lol.

Cards are usually damaged in one of three ways, most common is by sand/dirt in the wallet. Frequent beach goers get this a lot, they get sand in their wallets, sit on them with the sand against the card, and it abrades the magstripe. Other common way is by being scraped against something.

Since you don't see any damage, I'd expect it's the lesser common way of having had an encounter with a magnet. All it takes is a millisecond of proximity to a rare earth magnet to cause serious problems reading the card, or make it entirely unreadable.

The paper around the card thing is interesting, it does work to read at least 80% of cards that won't read otherwise. My theory is that slight damage to the strip makes a small perturbation in the magnetic fields off the strip, but that the perturbation smooths out some distance from the strip. So when you put paper around it, you're putting a bit more distance between the heads of the reader and the strip, allowing it to read the field farther away where it's evened out over the small scratches. Kind of like blurring a photo a bit to smooth out noise.

Swipe speed is also helpful. I've seen a lot of people that would slow down if the reader had trouble, as if they were going too fast for it. Not so; swiping faster causes your movement of the card to actually be a more consistent, smooth speed due to the inertia, and also gives a much stronger electrical signal from the heads to the electronics.

I've noticed I tend to get dirt in my wallet. I've just recently replaced it so maybe I can keep this one dirt free? I wouldn't rule out dirt/sand damage just yet. I did notice speed helped more than slowness but a bare card, it didn't always help.

Interestingly I had to peel off the tape from the card (and subsequently wipe like hell the sticky residue off). I went by an ATM the other day and it refused to read my card no matter what I did to it. I peeled the tape off and the residue (even rubbed off) made it hard to insert in the machine but it finally read it.