TYPES OF CARDS
There are basically three types
of credit cards:-
Bank cards, issued by banks (for example, Visa,
MasterCard and Discover Card)
Travel and entertainment
(T&E) cards, such as American Express and Diners Club
House
cards that are good only in one chain of stores (Sears is the biggest
one of these, followed by the oil companies, phone companies and local
department stores.)
ATM CARD
VS CHECK CARD
As an alternative to writing
checks and using a credit cards, most major banks have teamed up with major
credit-card companies to issue check cards.
Check cards are different from
straight ATM cards in a couple of ways. First, check cards are also known as
debit cards because of how they work -- instead of getting credit for your
purchase and receiving a monthly bill, like you do with a credit card, a check/debit
card deducts money from your checking or savings account.
Also, while you can only use
your ATM card at the ATM machine (and some grocery stores), you can use a check
card at any retailer that accepts credit cards, such as:
Grocery stores
Gas stations
Discount superstores
Book stores
Ticket counters (concert tickets, airline tickets,
etc.)
Pharmacies
Hotels
E-tailers
Restaurants
You can use
your check card as a either credit card or a debit card -- either way, it comes
out of your account. The only difference is that if you tell the clerk
"credit card," you sign a slip, and if tell the clerk "debit
card," you enter your PIN number instead of signing.
It's easy to
tell the difference between a plain ATM card and a check card: A check card has
your name, "credit" account number, the credit company's logo, the
bank's logo and "Check Card" printed across the front of it; an ATM
card has only your name, account number and bank's logo on the front of it.
Both cards have strips on the back for the authorized cardholder to sign on. A
check card company, such as visa, has agreements with banks to issue what looks
like a Visa credit card. A Visa check card can be used at any retailer that
accepts Visa credit cards and at ATMs worldwide.
How E-ZPass Works:-
You never
want to be stuck on a toll road without a pocket full of change. It can be a
bit nerve-racking to dig through the car seats, trying to find something to
give to the toll booth attendant while drivers behind you honk and yell for you
to move on. These are the kinds of situations that cause delays at toll plazas.
Today, most
toll roads are equipped with an electronic toll-collection system, like
E-ZPass, that detects and processes tolls electronically. E-ZPass is used by
several U.S. states, but most other electronic toll systems are very similar to
E-ZPass. Basically, E-ZPass uses a vehicle-mounted transponder that is
activated by an antenna on a toll lane. Your account information is stored in
the transponder. The antenna identifies your transponder and reads your account
information. The amount of the toll is deducted and you're allowed through. Electronic
toll collection is designed to make traffic flow faster, as cars don't have to
stop to make a transaction.
Millions of
drivers pass through toll booths every day. Traditionally, the process is to
put some change in a basket, which tabulates the coins and opens a gate to
allow the driver through. Today, many local and state traffic agencies have
installed or are installing electronic readers that allow drivers to pass
through toll stations without coming to a complete stop. The names of the
systems vary, but they all work in pretty much the same way.
Here are the basic components
that make the system work:
Transponder
Antenna
Lane controller - This is the computer that controls
the lane equipment and tracks vehicles passing through. It is networked on a
Local area network (LAN).
Host computer system - All of the toll plaza LANs are
connected to a central database via a Wide area network (WAN).
Drivers
usually have to pay a deposit to obtain a transponder, which is about the size
of a deck of cards. This device is placed on the inside of the car's windshield
behind the rearview mirror. A transponder is a battery-operated, radio
frequency identification (RFID) unit that transmits radio signals. The
transponder is a two-way radio with a microprocessor, operating in the 900-MHz
band. Stored in this RFID transponder is some basic account information, such
as an identification number.
Antennas, or
electronic readers, are positioned above each toll lane. These antennas emit
radio frequencies that communicate with the transponder. The detection zone of
an antenna is typically 6 to 10 feet (2 to 3 m) wide and about 10 feet long.
These two devices, the transponder and the antenna, interact to complete the
toll transaction.
Some
electronic toll-collection systems may also include a light curtain and
treadles. A light curtain is just a beam of light that is directed across the
lane. When that beam of light is broken, the system knows a car has entered.
Treadles are sensor strips embedded in the road that detect the number of axles
a vehicle has. A three-axle vehicle is charged a higher toll than a two-axle
vehicle. These two devices are safeguards to ensure that all vehicles are
counted correctly.
No Change,
No Problem By installing electronic toll-collection systems, government
agencies believe that traffic will move faster. The idea is that even if
commuters have to slow down for the toll booths, they can get through faster
with a system like E-ZPass. Motorists no longer have to worry about stopping to
deposit or hand over the toll -- and there is certainly no searching the car
for loose change. As long as they've paid on their E-ZPass account, they just
have to rely on the lane antenna to read the signals from the transponder.
NEXT COMING:::HERE'S HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS,HOW ENCRYPTION WORKS
