Can physical credit card reader identify first & last name?

Question

I'm looking into how physical credit card readers work, like the ones in grocery store. Can they identify who is paying, e.g. first name & last name that is printed on a credit card? What kind of data do they get? Do physical card readers get credit card number or just some token?

Answer 1

Sort answer, no. When you visit a store and pay by card, they will send the card information (card number and expiry date) along with how much to debit your account to a payment gateway - they will route the request to the relevant merchant bank. They are responsible for contacting your bank to debit the account. The bank, and only the bank, has identifiable information. You prove your identity to the seller by presenting your signature or PIN. If you're paying online, you must provide identity information to prove who you are.

Answer 2

All payment cards contain the cardholder name, card number (PAN), expiry date and issue number (where applicable) in digital format - encoded both on the magnetic stripe and on the EMV chip where present.

This data can be read by the terminal without contacting any third party, and in fact it must be read to initiate contact with third party gateway in order to perform authorization/settlement

Answer 3

What data can a card reader potentially obtain? A basic swiper (typically replaced in US by EMV) can read Track 1 data, including Primary account number (PAN), Name, Expiration date. If the card reader is encrypted, only the application that has the key can obtain the data.

In a retail environment using US EMV chip terminals like the Verifone MX915 or similar Ingenico, the terminal is usually a slave to a payment gateway. What happens in that environment, including all data exchange, token, etc is all part of the EMV certification. You can read more about that here https://www.emvco.com/processes-forms/product-approval/