What are the Average Dimensions for a Credit Card?

The primary reason why the dimensions are kept of the same size is convenience. It makes it more manageable for individuals to interact with them or use them. For example, people can buy any wallet as they have the same space for keeping the cards. Another significant benefit is that you can use any ATM for withdrawing money; else, you would have to find a particular ATM for using it.

The primary reason for deciding upon set dimensions was to create a standard size to be used everywhere. It started because of international cooperation in the wake of World War II. Initially, there were just a few countries when this cooperation started, but now there are 162 countries. Therefore, together it was decided by ISO international standard.

Golden Ratio is the rule that is applied to it. An ancient mathematician named Pythagoras suggested this rule and said it is the most ideal and balanced ratio human recognizes. The ratio is 1:1.6, and there are various ancient places and objects where this rule is used, such as a computer monitor, book, Mona Lisa, Pyramid in Egypt, a movie screen, etc.

This is why the credit card also used the same credit card ratio: 1:1.586 = 1:1.6 Golden Ratio. The motive why it is practised is that it makes eyesight feel at comfort.

The standard thickness of a credit card is 0.03 inches or 0.76 millimetres. It can vary as well, but usually, it comes in 10-30 mil. Mil is one-thousandth of an inch, yet normally the thickness of a credit card is 30 mil. The best thing is that they have a very durable thickness, which is perfect for plastic cards. The credit card must be durable as it has to be sued for a couple of years, and getting a new one is usually chargeable and big trouble.

Various things determine the standard size, but the primary element is the magnetic stripe on your card’s back, as it plays a significant role in creating the standard credit card size. Normally, the money based credit cards is created of the usual CR80 size. Other cards can be lighter or thicker depending on the usage.

If the card has a thickness of 20-24 mil, then it would be more flexible. If it is around 10-15 mil, you would feel the card just like a paper, and if it has a thickness of 30 mils or more, it would be slightly hard.

Ordinarily, there are four credit card sizes: ID-000, ID-1, ID-2 and ID-3. The standard size is ID-1, which is also known as CR80, and its width is 3.37 inches in width and 2.125 inches in height.

Since the time you have been using the credit card, there have been many changes made in the credit cards, but their size, dimensions, and thickness remain constant. Technology has been updated, such as put the cards into a chip reader, swipe the magnetic stripe, but the feel remains the same.