What happens if you do NOT pull out your credit/atm card from the scanner quickly?

Question

You know how many credit card scanners command you to Swipe Card Quickly or something similar?

What's the big deal with that? Is there a technical reason for this urgency in swiping our cards?

Thanks!

Answer 1

The machine gets impregnated with your cards pin number... DUH

Answer 2

I don't know the answer, but I always assumed it was because it was a function of electromagnetic strip and you had to swipe quickly to create a readable flash.  You didn't generate any electricity by doing it slow.  Probably the wrong answer.

Answer 3

The longer it takes to swipe your card, the more times they charge you.

So, for instance, a card swipe should be 8/10ths of 1 second, if you leave your card in for, say, 1 and 3/5th second, they will charge you twice.

Think of it as a tax on slow people and people who don't read instructions.

Answer 4

It won't read the card!