Magnetic stripe proximity cards allow you to encode additional data on the card using a HiCo magnetic stripe along with the access control functionality – giving you two styles of cards in one.
Benefits of Multifunctional Cards
Multifunctional cards allow you to store more data and use your cards in a variety of ways, increasing the efficiency of your card program.
Magnetic stripe proximity cards work as both access control cards and magnetic stripe cards. Magnetic stripes are used in a wide variety of ways, from student IDs that can check out library books to payment cards in cafeterias and parking garages.
Magnetic stripe prox cards can be used as:
- School & university ID cards that can pay for lunches or check out library books
- Hospital ID badges to increase security & monitor use of restricted materials
- Hotel room keys and payment cards for restaurants & other services
- Building access control for businesses & payment cards for underground parking garages or on-site cafeterias and coffee shops
Magnetic Stripe Technology
Magnetic stripe cards come in two varieties – LoCo (low coercivity) and HiCo (high coercivity). Proximity cards are only available with HiCo magnetic stripes.
The difference between LoCo and HiCo cards is the amount of energy it takes to change the magnetic stripe’s magnetic field (how you encode the card), which is measured in Oersteads (Oe). LoCo cards take less energy (between 0 and 300 Oe), and HiCo cards take more (between 300 and 3,000 Oe).
What does this mean for your cards? HiCo cards are harder to encode because they require more energy, making them both more durable (so you encoded data lasts longer) and harder erase or wipe. Hotel room key cards are LoCo-style magnetic stripes, while credit cards use HiCo cards.
So your magnetic stripe prox cards are designed for long-lasting magnetic stripe encoding.
