What’s Printed on a Credit Card

My first credit card was the Discover it, and it has been with me for almost ten years now. I still remember how excited I was when I received it. But since it was my first credit card ever, a lot of the information printed on the card was confusing at first, and I had to search online to figure out what everything meant. So today, I’ll walk through the important information typically printed on the front and back of a credit card.

And to keep things from getting too dry, I’ll also throw in a few fun facts along the way.

Keep in mind that designs vary by bank. Some information may appear on the front of the card, while other details may be on the back. But overall, most cards include roughly the same types of information.

Front of a Credit Card

Here we’ll use the Chase Disney Card as an example to explain the information printed on the front of a credit card. We’ll go item by item, starting from the upper left and moving downward, then from the upper right and moving downward.

Card Branding

A card issuer often has multiple product lines. For example, Chase’s own cards include Freedom, Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, and more. In addition, Chase also issues co-branded cards with airlines, hotels, and major brands. Those co-branded cards usually display the partner’s branding as well. In this case, you can see the Disney name on the card.

Chip

Chip usage has historically been less common in the U.S. than in Europe, where chip transactions are used more widely. In the U.S., swiping was long the default. The benefit of a chip is better security: compared with the magnetic stripe used for swiping, a chip is much harder to clone. There has long been a rumor that in some Chinatowns and restaurants, it’s best not to pay by swipe because certain POS machines may have skimming devices installed. When the card is swiped, the magnetic stripe data could be copied and used to create a counterfeit card, leading to fraudulent charges.

To use the chip, insert the chip end into the POS terminal, which will read the card information from the chip. Chip transactions generally use either chip-and-signature or chip-and-PIN. The first requires a signature; the second requires entering a PIN. If your U.S. card has never had a PIN set up, you can often just press confirm. If you’re traveling to Europe, it’s a good idea to call and set up a PIN in advance in case you need it. For signature transactions, you simply sign on the POS machine. The merchant may compare that signature with the one on the back of your card to reduce fraud risk.

Contactless Payment (Tap to Pay)

Some people may not be very familiar with contactless payment. If you see this wireless-style symbol, it means the card can be used for Tap to Pay at compatible POS terminals. In other words, you can simply hold the card near the terminal and it will read the card information automatically, without inserting or swiping it. During the pandemic, avoiding contact was definitely a nice perk.

Cardholder Name

Under typical U.S. naming conventions, the given name comes first and the family name comes last. If you have a middle name, it may appear on the card as an initial. Here are two examples:

  • 张三：SAN ZHANG
  • Donald John Trump: DONALD J. TRUMP

Of course, the name printed on the card depends on what you entered on your application. Most Chinese applicants do not have a middle name, so leaving that field blank is usually fine.

Issuer

If the credit card is issued by a major bank, the issuer information is usually printed on the card. For some store cards or co-branded cards issued through smaller banks, such as PayPal or Walmart cards, you may see only the merchant’s branding instead.

Payment Network

Every credit card needs a payment network. The most common ones include Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, JCB, and UnionPay (China UnionPay). After you use your card at a merchant, the transaction information is routed through the card network to the bank, and then a response is sent back to complete the payment.

Whether a merchant can accept your card depends on whether its POS terminal supports that payment network. In the U.S., Visa and Mastercard have the broadest acceptance and usually work almost everywhere. At a small number of restaurants or neighborhood grocery stores, the POS terminal may not support AMEX or Discover. After all, AMEX tends to charge higher merchant fees, so some businesses are less willing to accept it.

Once a credit card is issued, its payment network is usually fixed. In fact, banks and networks often have strategic agreements, so most cards from a given issuer may use the same network. For example, most Chase cards are now Visa; Citi has somewhat more Mastercard products; and BofA is fairly evenly split between Mastercard and Visa. Most AMEX cards run on the AMEX network, though a small number of Wells Fargo cards have also used the AMEX network. Discover mostly uses its own network. That said, in rare cases a card’s network can change. When that happens, the issuer will usually send you a new card, and the card number may change as well. A network switch also often means the card is treated as a new product, so it may become eligible for a new bonus again.

Back of a Credit Card

There’s also a lot of information on the back of the card. Let’s go through it from top to bottom.

Magnetic Stripe

When people talk about “swiping” a card, they’re referring to the magnetic stripe above. But magnetic stripe technology is fairly old and relatively less secure, so merchants have gradually shifted toward chip-based insert transactions. In theory, the stripe can be copied, and a single swipe could potentially expose your information. So when chip insertion is available, it’s generally better to use that instead of swiping.

Contact Number

This number is very important. If you need customer service, I recommend calling the number printed on the back of the card directly instead of searching online. That’s the safest option, since online search results can sometimes show incorrect numbers or even scam information. If you’re overseas, you can call the international number, though you’ll need to have international calling enabled first. If you call in the middle of the night in the U.S., there’s a good chance you’ll reach an overseas call center, often in India. If the issue is important, calling during the daytime may be more reliable.

Hologram

Many people may not know much about this symbol. It works somewhat like an anti-counterfeiting label: viewed from different angles, it reflects different colors and effects. Its main purpose is to help prevent cards from being forged. With today’s printing technology and even 3D printing becoming so advanced, it is theoretically possible to make a very convincing copy of a card.

Signature Box

This signature box is the only part you need to fill out after receiving your card. There is usually a line of fine print below it that says “Not Valid without Authorized Signature,” which means the card is technically invalid without a signature. That said, based on my own experience using cards, merchants usually do not proactively check whether the signature on the back matches the one you enter on the POS terminal at checkout. However, when buying expensive items or high-value gift cards, a merchant may check your ID and compare the name and signature on your card. In Europe, signature checks seem to be a bit more common.

I still recommend signing your name on the back with a black pen after you receive the card, then letting the ink dry for a bit. There are benefits to signing it. For example, if your card is used fraudulently and the merchant kept the signature from the transaction, you can compare that signature with the one on the back of your card and send it to the bank as evidence. If the two look very different, that could help support your case.

Security Code (CVV)

Usually, there are 3 digits printed after the signature box on the back of the card. These digits are very important: they are the card’s security code. On some cards, such as AMEX, the security code is 4 digits and printed on the front. This code is mainly used for card-not-present transactions, meaning purchases where the card is not physically presented, such as online payments, where you will very likely need to enter it.

This code is a randomly generated 3-digit or 4-digit number when the card is made. Each time your old card expires and you receive a replacement, the card number may stay the same, but these 3 or 4 digits will change. When shopping, websites usually store your card number, but they generally do not store the security code, so the next time you make a purchase, you may need to enter it manually to verify your identity.

Card Number

When I first came to the US, basically all credit card numbers were printed on the front of the card, and the numbers were embossed. Later, many cards moved the card number to the back and got rid of the embossed design, so the whole card became flat. I’m not sure whether that was done for security reasons or cost reasons.

Although a card number may look like a random string of digits, it actually follows strict numbering rules, and the length also follows certain patterns. You can compare your own cards with the table below to see whether they match. One interesting detail is that some China UnionPay cards can only use the Discover payment network in the US if their card numbers fall within certain ranges.

In addition, credit card numbers use a validation algorithm called the Luhn algorithm, which makes it easy to tell whether you entered the card number incorrectly. However, the algorithm can only detect certain types of errors, such as a single wrong digit or two adjacent digits being swapped, so it does have limitations. If you are interested, see:

Expiration Date

A credit card also shows its expiration date, which means the card is only valid through that date. For example, if you enter an expired credit card while shopping online, the payment will not go through. Of course, the bank will usually mail you a new card before the expiration date, and once you activate it, you can start using the new one. Your old card will still work normally until it expires, whether online or in person.

In general, a credit card is valid for five years, meaning it expires five years after the month the card was issued (or the application was approved). Of course, if you lose the card during that period and a replacement is mailed out, the new expiration date will usually reset to five years from the month the replacement card is produced.

Interesting Card Designs

Above, we went over the information printed on a credit card in quite a bit of detail. Now let’s talk about something more fun: a few credit card designs I’ve seen that stand out.

Discover Has the Most Card Designs!

Most credit cards come with a fixed design, but Discover lets you choose your own card design. In 2022, there were as many as 159 designs to choose from.

In addition, Chase Disney also lets you choose from several card designs.

AMEX Does Things Its Own Way

AMEX cards are a bit unusual. Most cards put a 3-digit security code on the back, but AMEX uses a 4-digit code on the front. There is also a “Member Since” date, which shows when you first became an AMEX cardmember. That date is shared across all AMEX cards you have, so even a newly approved card will trace back to the year of your oldest AMEX card. In the past, even adding an authorized user could make that person’s “Member Since” date look just as old as yours. I’ve even heard stories of parents adding their children as authorized users, only for the child’s “Member Since” year to end up being earlier than their birth year.

Vertical Card Designs

Some cards now try to stand out with a vertical layout. They do look pretty distinctive.

A Card Design with Your Photo!

At one point, BofA Debit cards had your photo printed on the front... I’m not sure what new cards look like now.

Summary

There is actually a lot of information printed on a credit card, and for beginners, it is pretty interesting to learn what everything means.

Have you seen any other unusual card designs? Feel free to share.