Like do they just electronically connect to your bank or somthing? I don’t understand how swiping the card/inserting the chip makes the money disappear from your bank
In: Technology
Here’s an archived post from this subreddit, asking the same question:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/atm9sn/eli5_how_do_credit_cards_physically_work_how_is/](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/atm9sn/eli5_how_do_credit_cards_physically_work_how_is/)
The chip holds your ID, which for simplicities sake is just your card number. The rest is entirely done by the magic of the internet.
Your debit card summons a small magical imp that can instantly appear in the lobby of your bank and ask the teller for the cash that you need for the purchase. Once the imp gets the money, it reappears back at the cashier and hands the cashier the money. BUT, instead of having to worry about wads of cash, the imp then magically travels to the lobby of the bank that the cashier’s business uses, and deposits the cash in the business’s bank account there.
If you’re using a credit card, it’s the same process, except instead of getting cash from your bank account, it talks to a Credit Demon at the Demon Bank, who gives the imp the cash, and notes in a ledger how much you owe to the Demon Bank. At the end of each month, the Credit Demon sends you a bill for how much cash you need to send to the Demon Bank to pay for all of the purchases you made.
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