Magnetic stripe readers pull data off the stripe on a card: point-of-sale swipe readers for payment and loyalty cards, desktop readers for ID and membership-card check-in, and the compact models built into kiosks and check-in stations. Anywhere a stripe still gets swiped instead of tapped, one of these is doing the reading.
Match the reader to the interface the register or workstation expects - USB, serial, and keyboard-wedge readers are not interchangeable without the right software support - and confirm the reader's track compatibility against the cards it must read. Where payment cards are involved, use only readers approved for the payment platform in service; unapproved hardware is a compliance problem, not just a technical one. For check-in and ID use outside payment, keyboard-wedge readers are usually the simplest integration. COLAMCO supplies magnetic stripe readers for the point-of-sale and identification systems business, government, and education organizations run.