Magnetic Stripe Reader

Data Encryption

There are two types of MSR heads available for the XL15:

NCR Encrypted MSR (5915-F141/F241, 7613-K141) — The following software interfaces are supported: OPOS, Serial, NCR API, or Keyboard Wedge.

NCR JIS MSR (F142/F242)

NCR Encrypted MSR (5915-F141/F241, 7613-K141)

The NCR Encrypted MSR head encrypts card data on the head using a Triple DES DUKPT encryption scheme. The data is encrypted using the 3DES standard. A unique 3DES key is generated for every transaction (no two swipes are encrypted with the same 3DES key). The data is decrypted before it is sent to the application.

Card Data Encoding

Card data should be encoded according to the ISO Standards 7810, 7811 and 7813. In particular, 7810 describes the physical dimensions and layout of the card and mag stripe. 7811-4, 5 and 6 relate to the locations and magnetic characteristics of track data in the mag stripe. 7813 is specific to financial cards (credit and debit).

Track 1 data is 7-bit encoded, alphanumeric and a maximum of 79 characters.

Track 2 data is 5-bit encoded, numeric only and a maximum of 40 characters.

Track 3 data is 5-bit encoded, numeric only and a maximum of 107 characters.

See the ISO Standards specifications for more detail.

Card Thickness

The MSR module accepts standard cards within the thickness range of 0.68 – 0.84 mm.