Every time a customer taps a card at checkout, a chain of standards, licensing agreements, and security checks is working behind the scenes — most of which the average bank employee never sees explained end to end. Understanding that chain is what separates someone who processes card transactions from someone who can actually troubleshoot, audit, or sell them.

This Bank Card Systems course from the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy walks participants through how electronic payment cards emerged, how each card type is built and licensed, and how banks guard against the fraud and money-laundering risks that come with them.

Who Should Attend?

• Commercial and Islamic bank employees.
• Employees of money transfer, exchange, and electronic payment companies.

Knowledge and Benefits:

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Trace the historical origin of bank cards and how the industry evolved.
• Explain the concept and mechanism behind electronic banking cards and their value to customers and other parties involved.
• Distinguish between the different types of bank cards, how each works, and where each is used.
• Apply the accounting settlements and financial impact tied to each card type.
• Describe the automated authorisation system and the electronic networks cards run on.
• Recognise global card issuance standards and the major companies behind them.
• Identify common card fraud methods and the controls used to prevent and audit them, including money-laundering safeguards.

• Module 1: How Bank Cards Came to Be
  • The origin of bank cards and how the industry developed.
  • How bank cards work, their required specifications, and the mandatory data they carry.
  • The concept of a BIN (Bank Identification Number).
• Module 2: Card Manufacturing Technology and Market Structure
  • Magnetic stripe versus chip card technology.
  • The main categories of bank cards and the parties involved in issuing and using them.
  • Criteria banks must meet to obtain a licence and operate card products from global card companies.
• Module 3: ATM and Debit Cards
  • How ATM cards and debit cards work.
  • Conditions for issuing debit cards, their types and uses.
  • Advantages and disadvantages for customers, banks, and merchants.
• Module 4: Credit Cards in Depth
  • The concept and definition of credit cards.
  • Card tiers: Classic, International, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
  • Charge cards versus revolving cards, and the trade-offs of credit card use for all parties involved.
• Module 5: Prepaid and Islamic Banking Cards
  • The concept and mechanism of prepaid cards, and their pros and cons.
  • Sharia-compliant controls governing Islamic banking cards.
  • Types of cards subject to Islamic controls, and secured versus unsecured credit cards.
• Module 6: Issuance, Licensing, and Real-World Samples
  • The global companies issuing cards and their licensing requirements for banks.
  • The practical process banks follow to issue cards.
  • Reviewing real samples of the different card types.