| 摘要 |
<p>A financial transaction card (10) includes an annunciator (26) to generate a human perceptible indication upon activation. The annunciator may be audio, such as a pre-recorded sound, or may be visual, such as a light. The annunciator may be user-activated and/or may be activated upon use of the financial transaction card in a reading device. The annunciator, being relatively more difficult to implement than a conventional transaction card, serves to authenticate the card. Furthermore, the consumer appeal of a financial transaction card with such annunciator capability may be promoted by an issuer to attract new customers. In another embodiment, a distinctive recorded sound is generated when a credit card or other financial transaction card is used at a point of sale (POS) terminal (8). As is common, the POS terminal includes a card reader through which the card is swiped to read data that is encoded on a magnetic stripe (14) affixed to the card. A recorded sound may be stored in the card or in the card reader. In either case, the sound is played back through the card reader when the card is swiped.</p> |
