Digital card
Virtual online representation of a plastic card
A digital card is either a physical item, such as a memory card on a camera, or, increasingly since 2017, the digital content hosted
as a virtual card or cloud card, as a digital virtual representation of a physical card. They share a common purpose: identity management, credit card, debit card or driver's license. A non-physical digital card, unlike a magnetic stripe card, can emulate (imitate) any kind of card.
A smartphone or smartwatch can store content from the card issuer; discount offers and news updates can be transmitted wirelessly, via Internet. These virtual cards are used in very high volumes by the mass transit sector, replacing paper-based tickets and the earlier magnetic strip cards.
History
Magnetic recording on steel tape and wire was invented by Valdemar Poulsen in Denmark around 1900 for recording audio. In the 1950s, magnetic recording of digital computer data on plastic tape coated with iron oxide was invented. In 1960, IBM built upon the magnetic tape idea and developed a reliable way of securing magnetic stripes to plastic cards, as part of a contract with the US government for a security system. A number of International Organization for Standardization standards, ISO/IEC 7810, ISO/IEC 7811, ISO/IEC 7812, ISO/IEC 7813, ISO 8583, and ISO/IEC 4909, now define the physical properties of such cards, including size, flexibility, location of the magstripe, magnetic characteristics, and data formats. Those standards also specify characteristics for financial cards, including the allocation of card number ranges to different card issuing institutions.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Digital card” is virtual online representation of a plastic card. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Digital, card and Virtual, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “virtual online representation of a plastic card” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q22907797. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2017, 1900 and 1960.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Digital card”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Digital card primary sources, Digital card archive and Digital research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Digital card”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Digital card” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.