How does money move when you tap a card?
The Three-Second Journey
How does money move when you tap a card?
You tap your card on the reader at the coffee shop — beep! — and the screen says "approved." Three seconds, done. But in those three seconds, your money just traveled through six different computers, crossed the internet twice, and got checked by a bank security system that would make a spy jealous.
The card reader wakes up the tiny chip in your card — that gold square on the front. The chip generates a one-time code, like a password that expires after one use. It sends that code, plus your card number, to the reader. The reader has no idea who you are yet. It's just collecting the package to send upstream.
