Automatic Credit Card Inserter/Swiper

Projects General Guidance
1

I'm looking for a way of automatically inserting a credit card into a payment terminal via a webhook. I know how to handle the coding aspect. I'm wondering if anyone has an idea of what the best way of creating an automatic credit card inserter/swiper (either one, but looking for ideas on both) for testing purposes.

So far the only way I know of doing it would be to 3D print a contraption and add a solenoid in it to do the credit card inserting. I'm not sure how it would be possible to make a swiper though.

Does anyone have any ideas? :smiley:

2

Find a second hand ATM machine. Or at least the card insertion thing that's part of it.

3

I wonder if this is legal - giving machine the ability to use your credit card . It may need human interaction, look at the terms and ring the bank.

Obsolete anyway , look at contactless with cards , or preloaded rings etc

4

tHemAcHiNe83888:
I'm looking for a way of automatically inserting a credit card into a payment terminal via a webhook. I know how to handle the coding aspect. I'm wondering if anyone has an idea of what the best way of creating an automatic credit card inserter/swiper (either one, but looking for ideas on both) for testing purposes.

So far the only way I know of doing it would be to 3D print a contraption and add a solenoid in it to do the credit card inserting. I'm not sure how it would be possible to make a swiper though.

Does anyone have any ideas? :smiley:

Many, many years ago I was visiting the Burroughs/Unisys plant in Plymouth, Michigan, and walked past an ATM being reliability tested by a robot arm.

The arm would insert the card, press a few buttons, remove the false money that was dispensed, drop it into a box, and then remove the card, wait and do it again.

You can do something similar, I suspect.

Paul

5

That was my "Now I've heard everything" moment for the day. :astonished: :grinning: :roll_eyes:

6

Paul__B:
That was my "Now I've heard everything" moment for the day. :astonished: :grinning: :roll_eyes:

A few banks rested the ATM, but never was marketed. Probably too expensive, compared to the competition.

Paul

7

Admittedly, I was referring to the OP! :roll_eyes:

8

tHemAcHiNe83888:
I'm looking for a way of automatically inserting a credit card into a payment terminal

There is an important error here. It ought to read
I'm looking for a way of automatically inserting my credit card into a payment terminal

because you should NOT be fiddling around with other people's credit cards.

...R

9

Perhaps if you explained what the 'testing purpose' actually is, forum members would be better able to offer a solution.

10

Hey all... just to clarify. This robot would be used for automation testing of point of sale software. It would be using a dummy credit card that's supposed to get auto approved without any billing attached to it.

The idea is to make this robot to emulate the customer experience as closely as possible. I already have several terminals I can use.

Thanks for comments. If anyone has any idea on how to build something that pushes and pulls the card, I'd like to hear them.

11

A linear actuator can move the card back and forth.

12

tHemAcHiNe83888:
The idea is to make this robot to emulate the customer experience as closely as possible.

Thanks for comments. If anyone has any idea on how to build something that pushes and pulls the card, I'd like to hear them.

Building something that pushes and pulls a credit card shaped piece of plastic should be straightforward.

Emulating what real people do with them is a whole other ball game. They put them in wrong way round and upside down. They get them creased in their pockets. They hold them at strange angles when inserting them. They put them in half way and then pull them out again because they want to talk to a friend or scratch an itch. etc etc etc

...R

13

Robin2:
Emulating what real people do with them is a whole other ball game.

I think the "customer experience" OP mentions is the rest: what customer sees on the terminal, not how they mistreat the credit card, or even how the credit card terminal deals with those poor insertions.

tHemAcHiNe83888:
Hey all... just to clarify. This robot would be used for automation testing of point of sale software. It would be using a dummy credit card that's supposed to get auto approved without any billing attached to it.

Part of the "customer experience" includes cards getting rejected now and then. That can be because of read errors (e.g. due to poor insertion), not enough credit available, or other reasons. I've experienced that myself, normally swiping again is all that's needed to make it work.

14

There must be thousands of used robot arms available and similarly the grippers you need. Just go buy one and then use your PC to program it and operate it.

You are just wasting valuable time fussing around.

Paul

15

Plenty of large servos would do this also.

16

wvmarle:
not enough credit available, ......... normally swiping again is all that's needed to make it work.

Never worked for me :slight_smile:

...R

17

That's the one case where swiping again usually won't help :slight_smile: