Direct Data Entry devices

Devices for reading information from cards

Magnetic stripe readers
It is used to read information on the magnetic stripe.
Eg: credit or debit card
Contactless card readers
Customers to pay for items without entering their PIN.
Chip and PIN readers
The device has a slot into which the card is placed, and the chip is read, the PIN is
entered using the keypad.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) readers
It uses radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag.
RFID tag is made up of two components.
1. A microchip that stores and process information
2. An antenna that is used to receive and transmit data/information
Magnetic ink character recognition/reader(MICR)
MICR is a system that can read characters printed in a special ink.
Eg: Reading the characters at the bottom of a bank cheque.
Optical mark recognition reader(OMR)
It is a device that can read marks marks written in pen or pencil.
Optical character recognition / reader(OCR)
It helps to take scanned text and converts it into a computer-readable form
Barcode readers
It is used to read information in the form of a barcode.
Quick response codes (QR Code)
It is made up of a matrix of filled in dark squares on a light background. It is
another type of barcode.