science

PIN pad

PIN pad is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand PIN pad rather than just read about it. In short: A PIN pad or PIN entry device is an electronic device used in a debit, credit or smart card-based transaction to accept and encrypt the cardholder's personal identification number (PIN). PIN pads are normally used with payment terminals, automated teller machines or integrated point of sale devices in which an electronic cash register is responsible for taking the sale amount and initiating/handling the transaction.

Key takeaways

PIN pad belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect PIN pad to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of PIN pad from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A PIN pad or PIN entry device is an electronic device used in a debit, credit or smart card-based transaction to accept and encrypt the cardholder's personal identification number (PIN). PIN pads are normally used with payment terminals, automated teller machines or integrated point of sale devices in which an electronic cash register is responsible for taking the sale amount and initiating/handling the transaction. The PIN pad is required to read the card and allow the PIN to be securely entered and encrypted before it is sent to the bank. In some cases, with chip cards, the PIN is only transferred from the PIN pad to card and it is verified by the chip card. In this case the PIN does not need to be sent to the bank or card scheme for verification. (This is known as "offline PIN verification".) Like some stand-alone point of sale devices, PIN pads are equipped with hardware and software security features to ensure that the encryption keys and the PIN are erased if someone tries to tamper with the device. The PIN is encrypted immediately on entry and an encrypted PIN block is created. This encrypted PIN block is erased as soon as it has been sent from the PIN pad to the attached point of sale device and/or the chip card. PINs are encrypted using a variety of encryption schemes, the most common in 2010 being triple DES. PIN pads must be approved to the standards required by the payment card industry to ensure that they provide adequate security at the point of PIN entry and for the PIN encryption process. ISO 9564 is the international standard for PIN management and security, and specifies some required and recommended characteristics of PIN entry devices. Although PIN pads nominally allow entry of numeric values, some PIN pads also have letters assigned to most of the digits, to allow use of alphabetic characters or a words as a mnemonic for the numeric PIN. Not all PIN pads necessarily have the same letters for the same numbers. ISO 9564 does not mandate any particular assignment of letters, and includes two examples that differ in the digits to which Q and Z are assigned.

Certifications Payment card industry EMV Abecs TQM PayPass PayWave ExpressPay

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with PIN pad

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what PIN pad claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to PIN pad before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about PIN pad ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of PIN pad

In research: PIN pad appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses PIN pad in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: PIN pad is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Banking equipment, Encryption devices, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for PIN pad outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study PIN pad in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what PIN pad means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain PIN pad out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is PIN pad in simple terms?

Why does PIN pad matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study PIN pad?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on PIN pad.