Transparently securing data for transmission on financial networks

A method for transparently decrypting MSR encoded data after transmission on unsecured public networks, comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a software application or service that accepts encrypted card information;
• b) enabling said software application to also accept a unique terminal identification number;
• c) select the terminal decryption key based on terminal identification number
• d) decrypting the previously encrypted MSR encoded card data;
• and
• e) restoring the original card data such that the data returns to the original card information.

A method for encoding card track data for encrypting data for transmission on unsecured public networks, comprising the steps of:

• a) receiving account information to encode as card track data;
• b) removing data not required by POS equipment to process a transaction;
• c) encrypting the removed data;
• d) replacing the removed data with the encrypted data;
• e) encoding the encrypted data on the magnetic stripe;
• and
• f) storing a decryption key along with a card identifier in a database;
• whereby the system maintains universal message format compatibility with any credit card payment infrastructure system.

A method for de-encrypting encoded card track data for transmission on secure financial networks, comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a software application or service that accepts encrypted card information;
• b) providing an encryption key database;
• c) using a card identifier to retrieve the encryption key from said encryption key database;
• d) decrypting the previously encrypted card data;
• and
• e) restoring the original card data such that it is returned to the original card information.

A secure magnetic stripe card reader module assembly comprising:

• a) a magnetic transducer head enclosure;
• b) a magnetic transducer head for detecting magnetic transitions on a magnetic stripe;
• c) a transducer head amplifier and a transducer head transitions detector;
• d) a microcomputer controller containing programs to decode the data from the head transition detector and output said data in one or more formats;
• and
• e) a battery for powering the head amplifier and microcontroller;
• whereby said head amplifier and said controller and said battery are contained within said magnetic head enclosure.