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Merchants used those old manual imprint machines to take physical copies of your card number.
It turns out that this little feature has an interesting history. (Representative Image)
Ever noticed the tiny hologram on your credit card and wondered what it’s for? It turns out, this little feature has an interesting history. For decades, the tiny hologram embedded on credit cards has been considered a critical security feature.
According to a Reddit user, back in the 1980s, Visa introduced a tiny dove hologram on its cards as a security measure. At the time, credit card transactions were processed manually using imprint machines.
Merchants used those old manual imprint machines to take physical copies of your card number, and this is the reason numbers were embossed.
Why Counterfeit Is A Major Concern?
Counterfeit cards were a major concern, so the hologram was added as a quick and reliable way for merchants to verify authenticity. Holograms are difficult to copy which makes it harder for people to create fake credit cards. This could be checked by tilting the card, which would reveal if the hologram looked real.
Merchants and bank officials can glance at the hologram to see if a card is genuine.
Some older credit cards had a small image of a dove that was invisible under normal light. You could only see it under a UV (ultraviolet) blacklight.
Other features, like the signature strip, served a similar purpose, which would help merchants confirm a card’s legitimacy without digital systems.
What Was The Situation Earlier?
Earlier, there was no reliable system to verify credit cards. With the advent of technology, modern fraud detection relies on chip technology, contactless NFC and CVV codes. This made the hologram largely obsolete as a security feature. But it can still provide a visual check for merchants.
Despite this, it continues to appear on cards because it is cost-effective, integrated into the card manufacturing process, and has become part of the brand identity, like the Visa Dove or Mastercard Globe.
Today, it is mostly a visual cue as it’s iconic, while modern technology handles the actual security.
A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
Delhi, India, India
October 19, 2025, 09:00 IST
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