The bank card has become, by far, the preferred means of payment for the French. According to figures from Statista, published in March 2022, payment by contactless card is used by 68% of consumers. Payment by credit card, by entering the code, is favored by 63% of respondents. Cash, far behind, is used by 33% of the population. Behind, we find contactless payment with smartphone (15%) and check (8%).

Used at the cash machine, online or at the bakery, the bank card has more than one secret. Do you know, for example, what correspond to the 16 figures in relief inscribed on its front face? Far from being an innocuous sequence of numbers, each number has a very specific meaning. And for good reason: according to our colleagues from MoneyVox, these figures follow a mathematical formula, the Luhn algorithm. “A sophisticated encryption system, thanks to which it is possible to check the numbers of your credit card via a control key”, specifies the magazine specializing in economic issues. Decryption in our slideshow below.

If the numbers on your bank card have a specific meaning, this information is also contained in its chip. Why display them then? According to MoneyVox, some merchants, especially abroad, do not have TPEs capable of interrogating said chip. “During a trip, it happens that a merchant is forced to check and manually enter the numbers on your card on his payment terminal,” explains the magazine.