MYERSTON@KL.SRI.COM (HECTOR MYERSTON) (10/05/88)
Patrick_A-Townson@cup.portal.com.uucp provides a very clear and erudite theory on credit cards and PINs. Unfortunately it is also about 100% inaccurate. There is no such thing as a "universal data base" of credit cards and PINs, in fact there is an incredible mumbo-jumbo of numbers, carriers, verification systems and access methods. For example, the card numbers issued by the LEC and AT&T are often (up to to now) the same. This means that if you punch the numbers in or pass verbally to the operator they are interchangeable. HOWEVER, the mag strips on the back are neither the same nor universally accepted. Also the international card number is no longer provided on the cards issued in California by PacBell. If you want both you must go to AT&T. This whole area is one of casualties of the breakup. One of the biggest irritants to any one who travels or provides the service to others. hom
peter@hpqtdla.HP.COM (Peter Locke) (10/17/88)
>The PIN is assigned and maintained at the local telephone company level, >regardless of the issuing carrier. How else could the local switch process >your calls? My understanding of the US network is that currently everyone pays AT&T to handle this. When such a call comes to a local exchange, a message is sent to an AT&T Control Point in the network which returns whether valid and how to bill etc. This is one of the reasons for the SS#7 Common Channel Signalling push in the Operating Companies. With their own SS#7 networks thay can easily provide this themselves with their own SCPs and hence make even more profit as they won't have to pat AT&T for the service, other than when it's an out of area call and I pity all you poor subscribers when they decide how they're gonna rip you off for that feature. PS: 1-800 numbers likewise is currently serviced by AT&T, lots of money their and SS#7 will enable the Operating Companies to make even more profits on it and offer whizzier services like free-phone numbers for just a small geographic area for one day.