Eli5: When your credit card doesn’t read at a credit card machine, why does covering it with a plastic bag suddenly make it work?

Question

Had this done multiple time at the register. Card not reading, so the cashier will cover the ribbon or the chip with a plastic bag and YATZEE, it goes through. Why?

In: 407

Answer 1

Close! It’s actually spelled “Yahtzee”. Also, to answer the question, it’s because the data is redundant, so by adding plastic, you make it so that the “good copies” are much easier to read than the bad parts.