What do you know about the process of making a credit card? Probably, not much. Banks usually don't show customers their "kitchen" and this is impossible. Processing center is a closed and controlled-access establishment. Even its employees have limited access to some of the rooms. Keep track on the latest credit news and be aware of all bank tips and hints of credit cards online.

There are two types of departments in a processing center - those that deal with paperwork and technical part, where cards are manufactured.

The life path of a card starts long before it has been produced. The bank staff has to work hard on it. Everything starts at software technologies department. Here they develop programs for every new card product.

The life of a plastic card starts at emission department. After you apply online for credit card, all applications from the bank come here. They set up a new folder for each new cardholder, where they keep all the data about him. There are a lot of them and, evidently, it's impossible to keep them all in one room. But the most important data files about cardholders are always kept available.

In emission department all cardholders' data is integrated into a unified computer system. Then they compose the card order. They determine what kind of a card a customer needs - status or secured credit card, student or low APR etc.

After the card order is complete, it goes to the technical part of the processing center. Only personnel of credit card companies producing cards can enter it. They enter through special gateways with an access pass. Not only the gateway identifies the pass, but weighs the employee. If the weight exceeds the limit, the access will be denied and you will be blocked between two bulletproof glass doors. This system was designed to prevent the access of two people by one pass.

Now we are in embosser room. This is the place where the card is made. This zone doesn't have any outward walls, which excludes the opportunity of getting here through explosion or undermining tunnel. There are no windows too. There is a computer and an embosser machine. The card order comes up to the computer, the plastic slices and tapes are put into embosser, and in one minute the card is ready. The name and card number of a cardholder are pressed (embossed) on it, the card is magnetized, and the entire customer's data is recorded on magnetic tape. Banking embosser is an expensive thing. It costs in average $50.000 and can produce 1.500 plastic cards an hour.

The most inaccessible and secret room is a cards storage. Here the plastic slices for cards are kept, and access is comparable to nuclear button. Only two employees can enter this room with their own key. This is done to prevent any opportunity of draft slices theft. Having cards slices it is not that hard to produce fake cards. You can easily buy card making equipment today.

When the card is ready the PIN code is created. It is created in a special room of ciphering. Here in special locked cage computer creates access codes. The ready code is printed on a special printer, which delivers already sealed envelope with a PIN-code. No employee knows what PIN-code is assigned to a credit card.