ISO 2894:1980

Embossed credit cards — Specifications, numbering system and registration procedure

Cartes de crédit estampées — Spécifications, système de numérotation et procédure d'enregistrement

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Publication Date: 30-Nov-1980
• Withdrawal Date: 30-Nov-1980
• ICS: 35.240.15 - Identification cards. Chip cards. Biometrics
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17 - Cards and security devices for personal identification
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17 - Cards and security devices for personal identification
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Completion Date: 01-Dec-1985

Relations

• Revised: ISO 7811-2:1985 - Identification cards — Recording technique — Part 2: Magnetic stripe
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Revised: ISO/IEC 7813:1990 - Identification cards — Financial transaction cards
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Revised: ISO 7811-5:1985 - Identification cards — Recording technique — Part 5: Location of read-write magnetic track — Track 3
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Revised: ISO 7811-3:1985 - Identification cards — Recording technique — Part 3: Location of embossed characters on ID-1 cards
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Revised: ISO 7810:1985 - Identification cards — Physical characteristics
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Revised: ISO 7811-1:1985 - Identification cards — Recording technique — Part 1: Embossing
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Revised: ISO 7811-4:1985 - Identification cards — Recording technique — Part 4: Location of read-only magnetic tracks — Tracks 1 and 2
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008

Standards Content (Sample)

International Standard 12894
~~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDlZATIONOME~YHAPOLlHAR OPrAHHBAUHR Il0 CTAHPAPTH3AUHH.ORGANlSATlON INTERNATIONALE DE NORMALISATION
Embossed credit cards - Specifications, numbering
0
system and registration procedure
Cartes de crédit estampées - Spécifications, système de numérotation et procédure d'enregistrement
Second edition - 1980-12-01
Corrected and reprinted - 1981-10-20
ijj UDC 336.777 : 681.327.4 Ref. No. IS0 2894-1980 (E)
-
@
Descriptors : credit cards, specifications, dimensions, numbering, data layout, character sets.
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Price based on 32 Pages

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Foreword
IS0 (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of
national standards institutes (IS0 member bodies). The work of developing Inter-
national Standards is carried out through IS0 technical committees. Every member
body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been set up has the
right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees ,are circulated to
the member bodies for approval before their acceptance as International Standards by
the IS0 Council.
IS0 2894 was developed by Technical Committee ISO/TC 95,
International Standard
Office machines. The first edition (IS0 2894-1974) had been approved by the member
bodies of the following countries :
Australia Italy Thailand
Bulgaria Japan Turkey
Canada Mexico United Kingdom
Egypt, Arab Rep. of Romania USA
Finland Sweden
Switzerland
France
The member body of the following country had expressed disapproval of the docu-
ment on technical grounds :
Germany, F. R.
This second edition, which supersedes IS0 2894-1974, incorporates draft Amend-
ment 1, which was circulated to the member bodies in October 1977, and which has
been approved by the member bodies of the following countries :
Australia Iran Sweden
Canada Italy Switzerland
Chile Japan Turkey
Czechoslovakia Mexico United Kingdom
France Romania USA
Germany, F. R. Spain USSR
No member body expressed disapproval of the document.
It also incorporates draft Amendment 2, which was circulated to the member bodies in
December 1979, and which has been approved by the member bodies of the following
:
countries
Australia Japan Sweden
Canada Korea, Rep. of United Kingdom
Czechoslovakia Mexico USA
Poland USSR
France
Germany, F. R. Spain
No member body expressed disapproval of the document.
@ International Organization for Standardization, 1980 O
Printed in Switzerland

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD IS0 2894-1980 (E)
Embossed credit cards - Specifications, numbering
system and registration procedure
3 Definition
n
O lntroducti
credit card : A card generally used to identify parties to a
Credit cards carrying embossed data are in wide use in several
I)
financial transaction and provide input data for a transaction.
industries. They facilitate the automatic transfer of the emboss-
ed data on documents by means of imprinters, thus avoiding
the risk of misinterpretation and misreading inherent in the
time-consuming manual transcription.
4 Physical characteristics
With the introduction of optical character recognition
technology, it has been possible to use the imprinted data, or
the relevant part of it, for direct input into an automatic data
4.1 Material
processing system, When data is in compliance with an inter-
nationally recognized and specified format, it is possible for any
The card shall be made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and/or
system involved to interpret the appropriate part of the data PVCA (polyvinyl chloride acetate) laminated plastic or a
and process them accordingly, thus allowing information inter- material having equal or better performance characteristics.
change on an international basis. Specific attention shall be paid to the characteristics affecting
its suitability for embossing and the resistance to crushing and
NOTE - The characteristics of the card described herein apply to inter-
collapsing of the embossed parts when operating in the im-
national interchange systems and do not preclude any national systems
printer.
from utilizing specifications.
4.2 Card dimensions (see figure 1)
1 Scope and field of application
0 This International Standard for embossed credit card defines
4.2.1 Actual dimensions
the physical specifications of the card, type fonts, location and
dimensions of the embossed data and an account numbering
All points on the edges of the card in the finished state, except
system. It further specifies the procedure by which card issuer
for the rounded corners, shall fall between two concentric,
identifiers shall be registered and promulgated for the informa-
similarly aligned, rectangles which are dimensioned as follows :
tion and use of all concerned.
-
outer rectangle : base length 85,72 mm (3.375 in)
2 References
height %,O3 mm (2.127 in)
IS0 554, Standard atmospheres for conditioning andlor
-
inner rectangle : base length 85,47 mm (3.365 in)
testing - Standard reference atmosphere - Specifications.
height 53.92 mm (2.123 in)
..I
IS0 1073, Alphanumeric character sets for optical recognition
These dimensions apply under the standard test atmosphere of
20 OC (88 OF) and 65 % relative humidity (see IS0 554).
-
Part 1 : Character set OCR-A - Shapes and dimen-
sions of the printed image.
- 4.3 Card thickness
Part 2 : Character set OCR-B - Shapes and dimen-
sions of the printed image.
The thickness of the embossed card shall be
IS0 1831, Printing specifications for optical character recogni-
0,76 i 0,08 mm (0.030 i 0.003 in)
tion.
1

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IS0 289-1980 (E)
5 Location and dimensions of embossed data
4.4 Corners
5.1 Assigned areas
The corners shall be rounded with a radius of 3,18 mm
(0.125 in).
Two areas are assigned to the card for the embossing of data
(see figure.2) :
Care should be taken to avoid misalignments between the
rounded corners and the straight edges of the card.
Area 1 : Area reserved for the number identifying both the
issuer and the cardholder's account. It is called "account
4.5 Card edges
number line". The imprints from this area are intended both
for human reading and optical character recognition.
Edge burrs normal to the card face shall not exceed 0,08 mm
Area 2 : Area provided for the cardholder's identification
(0.003 in) above the card surface.
data such as name, address, and other data which may be
required. It is called "name and address area". Data con-
4.6 General characteristics
tained in this area of the card or imprinted from it are nor-
mally intended for human reading only.
4.6.1 Deformation properties
The card must be of such nature that deformations in normal 5.2 Account number line
use (bends not creases) can be reduced elastically to flatness by
the reading or printing device without impairing the function of The account number line area provides space for a single line of
the card. a maximum of 19 character positions,
data. This line comprises
spaced nominally 3.63 mm (7 characters to the inch).
4.6.2 Flammability
The number of utilized (embossed) character positions will de-
pend upon the application requirements.
The card shall be flame resistant and self-extinguishing in still
air.
NOTE - When designing a new system, it is advisable to provide far
the maximum flexibility of use, i.e. :
4.6.3 Toxicity
- justify the embossed account number to the left,
- make allowance for an account number with maximum length.
The card shall present no toxic hazards in the course of normal
use. If these provisions are not taken into account, it may be necessary to
agree on certain limitations before the interchange of cards and data
among different systems can effectively take place. (An example is
4.6.4 Resistance to chemicals
shown in annex C.)
The card shall be resistant to chemical effects arising in normal
5.2.1 Embossing specifications
handling and use.
The embossing specifications for the account number line are
indicated in the following (reference is also made to the dimen-
4.6.5 Temperature stability
sions of figure 2 where appropriate) :
The card shall remain structurally reliable and usable at
a) centreline of account number line to the bottom of the
environmental temperatures between -35 OC and + 50 OC
card (E) :
(-30 OF and + 122 OF).
21,42 i 0,12 mm (0.843 i 0.005 in)
NOTE - Environmental temperatures as defined do not mean card
temperatures but refer to the environment in which the card is used.
b) centreline of the first character position to the left of the
card (FI :
4.6.6 Humidity
10,18 4 0,25 mm (0.401 4 0.010 in)
The card shall be reliably usable at a relative air humidity
between 5 % and 95 %, with a maximum wet bulb
c) nominal character spacing :
(77 OF).
temperature of 25 OC
3.63 mm (0.143 in)
4.6.7 Ultra-violet light
d) minimum spacing between two consecutive
The card and its printed text shall resist the ultra-violet light
characters :
which will appear in normal use.
348 mm (0.137 in)
4.6.8 Durability
e) tolerance of distance between centrelines of first and
Durability of the card is not established in this International last character of the line (tolerance of MI :
Standard. It is based on a mutual agreement between the card
issuer and the manufacturer.
f 0,08 mm (4 0.003 in)
2

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IS0 2894-1980 (El
f) maximum height at the printing surface of the
b) nominal character spacing
characters of the embossed account number line area, en-
compassing centreline skew and character misalign- 234 mm (0.100 in)
ment (DI :
c) minimum spacing between two consecutive
4,32 mm (0.170 in)
characters :
g) profile embossed height over the card surface (G) : 29 mm (0.097 in)
d) maximum cumulative tolerance between the centrelines
of the first and the last character of each line (tolerance
of L) :
5.2.2 Type fonts and print specifications
f 0,08 mm (f 0.003 in)
The account number line shall be embossed so as to produce
bottom margin of the embossed name and address
e)
on the imprinted document the image of characters from one of
area (Hl :
the three sets specified below :
minimum 2,41 mm (0.095 in)
- two of these sets are the internationally standardized
maximum $30 mm (0.130 in)
OCR-B fonts, which are
0 sets, namely the OCR-A and
described in IS0 1073/1, IS0 1073/2 and IS0 1831. In view
f) maximum height of the embossed name and address
of the particular requirements of the application, size IV has
area, encompassing centreline skew and character misalign-
to be used.
ment (1) :
- the third set, which has gained wide use in the past in
14,s mm (0.572 in)
similar applications, is the 7 B font, which is described in
annexes A and B.
NOTE - The measurement is referenced to the printing surface and
does not include tolerances.
NOTE - To ensure system compatibility in the choice of font, the
attention of intending users is drawn to the necessity of agreement
g) profile embossed height over the card surface (KI :
with their potential interchanging partners.
mm (0.018 -o.oo2 in)
-0,051
5.3 Name and address area
The name and address area provides space for four lines of
6 Credit card account numbering system
data. Each line comprises 27 character positions, nominally
spaced 2,54 mm (10 characters to the inch). The number of
6.1 Numeric account number format
character positions effectively embossed and the layout of the
data will depend upon the application requirements. Any infor-
The recommended numeric account number format consists of
mation embossed on the name and address area should always
a
two parts, the first for issuer identification, the second for
be embossed as far as possible from the account number line.
individual account identification. A check-digit is also specified
within the account number.
WARNING - Those card issuers who require to emboss
four (4) name and address lines should be aware that the
Allowed characters are the digits O, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9 and
imprinted documents produced from their cards may not
the character space or blank or an information separator.
be acceptable in an interchange environment due to OCR
clear area requirements on some types of OCR reading
equipment.
6.2 The issuer identification
Examples of account number formats are shown in annex D.
5.3.1 Embossing specifications
6.2.1 Major industry identifier
The embossing specifications for the name and address area
are indicated in the following (reference is also made to the
The first (high order decimal) digit will identify the issuing
dimensions of figure 2 where appropriate) :
industry as follows :
a) centreline of the first character position of each line to
1 - Universal air travel plan (UATP)
the left of the card (J) :
2 - Airlines on-line/personal cards
7,ô5 f 0,25 mm (0.301 f 0.010 in)
- Travel and entertainment
3
NOTE - The first character in the name and address area need not be
justified. However, the use of 27 character positions is based upon
7,65 mm (0.301 in) centreline for the first character. 4 - Banking institutions
3

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IS0 2894-1980 (E)
6.4 Individual account identification
5 - Banking institutions
Personal or individual account identification numbers will be
6 - Retail merchandising
assigned at the option of the card issuing company and will be
entered in the remaining positions of the account number line
7 - Petroleum industry
except for one position which is reserved for the check-digit
8 - Reserved for future assignment (see 6.5).
NOTE - If in specific circumstances it is desirable to have a
9 - Reserved for future assignment
geographical routing number, it is highly recommended that the first
digit(s) (high order) of the individual account identification be used for
O - Government sponsored number
this purpose.
6.2.2 Issuer identifier
6.5 Check-digit
The second, third and fourth digits will form the issuer identifier
The individual account identification is followed by a check-
:
except
digit character, which is calculated on all digits of the full
account number including the major industry identifier and the
a) When the major industry identifier used is "0" or "6',
issuer identifier. This character is computed according to the
the second, third, fourth and fifth digits will form the issuer
Luhn formula for modulus 10 check-digit (see annex E).
identifier.
b) When the major industry identifier used is "4" the se-
7 Registration
cond, third, fourth, fifth and sixth digits will form the issuer
identifier .
7.1 Field of application
c) When the major industry identifier used is "5' and the
second digit is :
A number assigned to a card issuer, in accordance with this
International Standard, will be for the information and use of all
1,2or3:
those interested.
that second digit will indicate how many following
digits, in conjunction with that second digit, form the
7.2 The registration authority
issuer identifier.
The registration authority shall maintain a register of the
or O, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 :
numbers assigned to card issuers. The contents of this register
the next four digits, in conjunction with the second
will be available to the IS0 member bodies and liaison organiza-
digit, form the issuer identifier.
tions.
or 9 :
One of the members of the IS0 Sub-committee
the allocation is reserved for use in accordance with
ISO/TC 95/SC 17 (Credit cards and identification cards) or an
IS0 4909.
approved body shall be appointed to act as the registration
authority for the purpose of this International Standard.
6.3 Space 7.3 Registration procedure
A blank space is recommended to be inserted between the The procedure for the registration of card issuers and of the
issuer identification and the individual account identifier. issuer identifiers assigned to them is contained in annex F.
4

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IS0 2894-1980 (El
R 3,18 (0.125)
7
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- 0.76 (0.030)
85.72 (3.375)
1-
FIGURE 1 -Card dimensions
M
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-4 -
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0000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000
.
FIGURE 2 - Embossing specifications
5

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IS0 2894-1980 (E)
Annex A
7 B Print specifications
(This annex does not form part of the standard.)
A.l Character set - 7 B Font
The 7 B font consists of the following characters :
The numerals O to 9 inclusive.
A.2 Character dimensions - Printed image
Nominal character height 3,81 mm (0.150 in) (centreline)
(0.080 in) (centreline)
Nominal character width 2,03 mm
Nominal stroke width 0,51 mm (0.020 in)
Maximum stroke width 0,76 mm (0.030 in)
Minimum stroke width 0,25 mm (0.010 in)
A.3 Character spacing and alignment
The nominal horizontal spacing of the characters as printed is 7 to the inch.
The minimum horizontal separation between adjacent characters is 0,38 mm (0.015 in).
Vertical misalignment between adjacent characters must not exceed 2,03 mm (0.080 in).
Character skew must not exceed f 3O.
Total line skew must not exceed the limits of the print zone as defined in the document specifications.
A.4 Printing characteristics
A.4.1 Ink density
For optimum performance, the ink (carbon) density of the printed character shall be such that its reflectance is not more than 20 % of
the average reflectance of the document on which the character is printed. At worst, the ink density of the printed character must be
such that its reflectance is not more than 60 % of the average reflectance of the document on which the character is printed.
NOTE - Reflectance is measured with an
...