All things must come to an end, it seems. Banking firm and debt-creator Mastercard has announced that it intends to phase out the magnetic strips you’ve seen on your bank card ever since you had a bank card. This means no more swiping your card when that blasted RFID chip is malfunctioning for no particular reason this week.
No more swiping your Mastercard
The magnetic strip (which the company called a ‘magnetic stripe’ — tomayto, tomahto) is going away from 2024, which is when the company will roll out strip-less cards first. If you’re particularly attached to your easily damaged black strip, you might have a few grace years, though — the switch away from the old tech will only become fully mandatory in 2033.
The company said, “Based on the decline in payments powered by magnetic stripes after chip-based payments took hold, newly-issued Mastercard credit and debit cards will not be required to have a stripe starting in 2024 in most markets.”
Mastercard has long been a fan of innovation, putting together a fingerprint-protected card with Samsung (that we never saw here) and embracing virtual cards wherever it can. Still, losing that black strip at the back of our bank cards is going to feel a little weird. It’s probably nothing compared to the day when bank cards cease to be cards and instead go fully virtual — which will probably be some time after 2033.