What's the Size and Thickness of Your Credit Card?

What size is a credit card?

A credit card is 3.37 inches wide (85.6 mm) and has a length of 2.125 inches (53.98 mm) with rounded corners having a radius of 2.88–3.48 millimeters . There are four different sizes for cards and they all have their names: ID-000, ID-1, ID-2, and ID-3. Credit cards refer to the ID-1 size which is also known as CR80. Besides credit cards, ATM and debit cards also follow the CR80 standard size.

Why do credit cards all have the same size?

Credit cards all have to share the same size to follow the regulation set by the International Organization for Standardization. The International Organization for Standardization is the entity that establishes the guidelines to which credit card companies have to measure up. They follow these regulations because of the magnetic strips on the back of credit cards. The card reader needs to scan a magnetic stripe of a certain size to accurately read all of the information. This forces credit cards to be all the same to not only allow all readers to work with all cards but also keep your information safe. 

If credit card companies were allowed to make credit card sizes as they wished, there would be a wide array of issues such as credit card machines not being able to accept all credit cards as they currently do. Imagine having picked out the best items to purchase but your card can’t fit into the store’s credit card machine.

Not to mention, your wallet would be strained with varying credit card sizes. No one’s wallet would be able to hold all the different credit card sizes. With the standardized credit card sizes, it makes it much easier to find a wallet and store your credit cards. 

However, just because all of these credit cards have the same size doesn’t mean they also have the same weight. Take the Ritz-Carlton Chase Card for example, which weighs in at 28g, and that of JP Morgan Reserve weighs about 27g. Meanwhile, most other credit cards weigh around the range of 10g to 15g. As you can see, the weight of credit cards can vary drastically from card to card.

What are the dimensions of a credit card?

As the size of a credit card is regulated by the International Organization for Standardization, so is the thickness of it. The standard credit card size is ID-1, a size that is also commonly referred to as CR80 card is 0.03 inches (0.76 millimeters). A standard CR80 credit card has the following dimensions:

• Width of 3.37 inches (85.6 mm)
• Height of 2.125 inches (53.98 mm)

This means that any card you obtain for standard business transactions, anything from credit or debit purchases to gift card use is about 3.5 inches by 2 inches. Credit cards are made to be quite flexible. So you don’t have to worry too much about your credit card snapping in half, however, if it does most credit card companies will allow you to replace your credit card for free.

Why do credit cards have the thickness that they do?

Credit cards must adhere to their set thickness because payment machines must be able to accept all credit cards. Further, credit cards must be durable in their structure and so the thickness set by the International Organization for Standardization assures this. 

Without a uniform thickness for credit cards, it would be much more difficult for merchants and cardholders to coordinate their payment systems. Thankfully, credit card sizes are regulated to prevent any confusion from arising for cardholders.

How Thick is a Credit Card in Mil?

Mil, often confused with the millimeter, is equal to one-thousandth of an inch. meaning a CR80 credit card is 30 mil thick. Plastic card printing companies will even make cards thinner than 30 mil is a durable thickness for plastic cards which makes sense because credit cards take a lot of abuse with all those credit card machines they slide through.

Customization

Although you can not customize your card to make it larger or smaller, there are other ways to make your credit card unique to you. There are cards made out of different materials such as metal which can change the weight of the card drastically. If you want a stronger more bold card then you could go with a metal variant, if they are available. Examples of some metal credit cards are the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the American Express Gold Card. Some issuers also let you customize the design on the card. Many lenders only allow this for certain affiliated cards but some other issuers such as Chase provide more freedom for card customization such as having designs like Disney and Star Wars characters. Card size can not be changed due to standardization measures, but there are other aspects of the credit card that can be customized.  

>>Related: How to Destroy a Metal Credit Card

Takeaways

The International Organization of Standardization creates a standard of measurement for all credit cards to ensure that they can be used at all card reading pay points. Credit cards are 3.37 by 2.125 inches so that they can be big enough to be read by card readers. Without this standardization, it would make wallet shopping and buying credit cards significantly more difficult. The size of your credit card comes standard but there are many other ways to customize your card to make it unique.