Credit card imprinter

Mechanical device for transferring payment card details to paper

Manual card imprinter Another type of manual card imprinter (Janome M220) with a smaller sliding handle

A credit card imprinter, colloquially known as a ZipZap machine, click-clack machine or Knuckle Buster, is a manual device that was used by merchants to record payment card transactions before the advent of payment terminals.[1]

The device works by placing the customer’s credit card into a bed in the machine, then layering carbon paper forms over the card. A bar is slid back and forth over the paper to create an impression of the embossed card data and the merchant information on the imprinter. The customer signs these paper forms, with one copy as the customer receipt and the other kept by the merchant.[2]

## History

[edit]

Receipt from 1997 – card physically swiped and information imprinted on the receipt

These devices were used from the advent of charge cards and payment cards in the 1950s‍-‍60s until the 1980s‍-‍90s when electronic payment terminals started to replace them. They continued to be used well into the 2000s for places where network access was difficult, such as mobile locations like taxis and airplanes, or as a backup system in case of payment terminal failure.[3] This practice has been abandoned as of the 2020s,[4] with payment terminal failure now typically resulting in businesses accepting cash only or refusing to process transactions until the system is restored.

Starting in the late 2010s, some credit card issuers began to use cards without embossed numbers, making them incompatible with card imprinters.[5]

## See also

[edit]

* EFTPOS
* Payment terminal

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Knuckle Buster". Investopedia. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
2. ^ "What Is a Credit Card Imprinter?". Business.com. 2017-12-07.
3. ^ Sharwood, Simon. "Why embossed credit cards are here to stay". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
4. ^ Omar, Kashmala (2023-06-29). "How to Handle Credit Card Processing Outages". Lightspeed. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
5. ^ Dunaway, Jaime (2018-04-18). "Why Are Credit Card Numbers on the Back Now?". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

* v
* t
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Credit, charge and debit cards

Major cards|

* American Express
* Mastercard
* Debit
* Maestro
* Visa
* Debit
* Electron
* Cash

Regional and
specialty cards|

* ArCa
* AzeriCard
* Altyn Asyr
* Bancomat
* BankAxept
* BC Card
* BCA Card
* Cabcharge
* Capital One
* Discover
* Diners Club
* CB
* Dankort
* EFTPOS
* Electronic Payment Services (EPS)
* Elo
* European Payments Initiative (EPI)
* Forbrugsforeningen
* Girocard
* Hyundai Card
* Isracard
* JCB
* LankaPay
* Mir
* MEPS
* Meeza
* NETS
* PayPak
* RuPay
* Troy
* UnionPay
* UATP
* Verve

Defunct cards|

* Access
* Bankcard
* Carte Blanche
* Carte Bleue
* Chipknip
* Choice
* enRoute
* Eurocard
* Everything
* Laser
* Mondex
* Rail Travel Card
* Revolution Card
* Solo
* Switch
* PIN
* Proton
* V Pay

Accounts|

* Payment card number
* Card association
* Credit card balance transfer
* Credit limit
* Installment loan
* Revolving account
* Deposit account
* Current/checking account
* Savings account
* ATM card
* Fees

Debt|

* Cash advance
* Charge-off
* Debt-lag

Interest|

* Grace period
* Introductory rate
* Universal default

Payment|

* Card not present transaction
* Chargeback
* Controlled payment number
* Dispute

Interchange|

* Fee
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* Card scheme

| Interbank networks|

* Cirrus
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* Pulse
* Plus

|

Security|

* Card security code
* Chargeback fraud
* Credit card fraud
* Credit card hijacking

Technology|

* Automated teller machine
* Contactless payment
* Credit card imprinter
* EMV
* Hardware security module
* Interbank network
* Magnetic stripe card
* Payment terminal
* Personal identification number
* Secure cryptoprocessor
* Smart card

Banking|

* Issuing bank
* Acquiring bank

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