Psychedelic credit cards
 

I was having dinner at a Peruvian seafood/karaoke place in Virginia (I kid you not). I took out my Amex SPG to pay the check. I thought I had the wrong card or something: plastered over the front was AMEX in big bold letters. It was invisible ink, made visible by the UV lights they had on the ceiling.

My Visa had the bird logo, twice as big as the hologram one. My MasterCard had an 'M' and some unrecognizable symbol.

Anyone noticed this before?

My Citi.You card has the MasterCard logo on the back... The front has a big reflective thing in a circle ont he front.

-Vincent

I saw a news article on television regarding security features on credit cards years ago when I was in college. Scary to think that was more than 10 yrs ago... :eek: I had a Visa and American Express at the time. I took the cards into the molecular biology lab and looked at the cards under UV light. I saw this on my cards.

Also, on a Visa, the dark blue line around the Visa logo is actually your credit card number in micro type.

The first time I caught the big "AMEX" on the front of my Amex was when I was sitting at an outdoor table at a restaurant--plenty of UV coming from the sun, so no need to find a biology lab :D . I realized I'd never had the card out my my wallet in the out-of-doors prior to that occasion.

My UK Drivers License looks good under UV. There is the royal coat of arms in colour that you don't see under normal light!

I don't understand the point. Merchants don't wave the credit card under a UV lamp, and for phone or on-line purchases, the physical card need not even exist.

Isn't the problem with credit card theft or forgery the credit card number itself (along with expiration date, security code, etc.)? :confused:

With a Visa you get the Visa Eagle across the front
Mastercard gets an M C
American Express gets an AMEX

I don't recall what a Discover/Diners Club gets.


Various passports and drivers licenses also show something in UV light. The new Florida licenses show an extra photo of the person and their last name.

It's an additional security measure designed to thwart fake cards.

At a computer store I used to work at, we did indeed place the card under a UV light before every transaction to check. Never saw one without the appropriate markings, of course.

I've only seen one missing the markings. It was a "Citi" Visa... except the card looked like it had been printed at home and the numbers/letters didn't line up very well. We still ran it, and it when it declined, our phone rang. It was Citibank, telling us to stall the guy while police arrived.