Tips to Save Credit and Debit Cards From Physical Damage

The black magnetized strip on the back your debit and credit cards is their most important part. It stores your sensitive account information, and is accessed by a merchant when you swipe the card in an ATM machine or other appropriate instrument. If this strip is demagnetized, or damaged it can ruin the card itself, making it no longer useful. To protect your card it is important that you keep it away from items that can damage it. You should also discard old cards in a proper way so that thieves are not able to extract information from their magnetic strips. The best way to ensure safety is to cut the card in several pieces, especially through the black strip.
If you want to save your debit or credit card from physical damage, you can use the following tips:
Tip#1: Using Card Holders
The most important thing you must do to protect your cards from damage is to start using card holders, rather than carrying them in your wallets or purses loosely. There are a variety of things that you carry in your purse such as keys, phones, etc. that can damage your card on contact. Magnetic items can also cause demagnetization of your card strip, but a card holder built for protection against magnetic fields can save it.
Tip#2: Avoiding Purses With Magnetic Clasps
A great number of purses used by women come with magnetic clasps, which can damage even the best credit card. While most magnetic clasps are not strong enough to cause a magnetic field disruption, the risk exists still. It is better to switch to a carrying purse that doesn?t use a magnetic component of any kind. The same goes for wallets used by men.
Tips#3: Storing Cards in the Right Manner
Make sure that when you store multiple cards you place them in the same direction. If two cards are put together in a way they their magnetic strips are in contact, it could cause demagnetization, leading to data corruption, and thus damaging the cards altogether.
Tips#4 Discarding Cards Properly
If you are no longer going to use a debit or credit card, then you should discard it properly. Rather than simply throwing it away you should first cut it in two halves through the magnetic strip, and then discard it. Even if the account associated with the card is no longer operational, there is still risk involved here. The card still contains your account information, and a hacker could download it and use it for the worse, unless the strip is cut and damaged by your first.
More than physical damage, demagnetization has a higher risk of damaging your card. Thus, you must keep your cards away from strong magnetic fields, such as by:

• MRI Machines: Magnetic Resonance Imaging- the name says it all. MRI machines generate really strong magnetic fields. Even standing in the same room where one such machine is operating can corrupt the data on your credit or debit card.
• Security Tag Deactivators: Many stores these days use security tags for protecting their products from thefts. When you buy one such product the cashier puts it on a security tag deactivator that removed the tag. Majority of these devices use radio waves which pose no threat to your credit or debit cards, but some may use magnets, which may damage your card. To be on the safe side, put your card back in your wallet or purse as soon as you are done paying.

Can Your Cell Phone Demagnetize Credit or Debit Card?
This is one of the most popular myths that has been floating around since a long time. However, the truth is that cell phones can rarely corrupt the data stored on your card. The radio waves produced by these devices are not powerful enough to make that possible. However, strong magnets, such as refrigerator magnets, or even the ones in large speakers, can certain damage your card.
Plastic cards have become quite common due to their convenience. However, you must take good care of them to avoid getting in a problem. The tips given above can certainly be helpful in that endeavour.