Try putting it in a bag...

[edible_hat]

The ATM in my store can be a bit tricky. We've discovered (somehow) that when it won't read a card, there's an 80% chance of it reading that card if the card is in a plastic bag when swiped. (as in, put card in bag, swipe bag through the card reader, with the card's stripe lined up in the right spot, etc.)

Customer: "The ATM's not reading my card."
Me: "Sometimes it will work if you put your card in a bag." *hands customer a plastic bag*

Customer puts the card in the bag, takes it out again, and swipes the card.


the weird thing is, it worked.

[ArcticChicken]

Yeah, I have absolutely no idea why that works, but it does. Some people rub the bag on the magnetic strip and it fixes it, so I'm assuming that's what happened with this customer.

[Becks]

It's all about the static. I guess.

[sixums]

The static electricity in the bag acts as a carrier, aligning with the polarity of the magnetic strip on the card and allowing the machine to read it. --My boyfriend.

My man goes through cards faster than a hungry lion through an antelope. He got into the habit of carrying a plastic bag with him to stores in case the machine couldn't read it.

[edible_hat]

Last night two other people did the put-it-in-the-bag-and-take-it-out-again trick, and it didn't work for either of them. Swiping the bag with the card in it did though. (That one apparently works the same way as putting tape on the stripe, but won't damage the card)