Today they can handle 80 times more information than the most advanced magnetic-stripe plastic, which usually contain little more than a name, an account number and a secret ID code.

CNN: ASIANOW - Asiaweek

The defendants then encoded the stolen data onto the magnetic stripes of blank plastic cards (like store gift cards, for example).

FORBES: Crooks Secretly Filmed Customers' ATM Transactions To Steal $3M From Bank Accounts: NY AG

This year, 2012, digital plastic substrate magnetic tape turns 60 years old.

FORBES: Magnetic Tape Turns 60

However with the introduction of lighter weight and more flexible plastic substrate magnetic tapes, combined with a vacuum column to control the tension that the magnetic tape experiences during use, the IBM 726 was a prototype of the modern digital tape recording system.

FORBES: Magnetic Tape Turns 60

The cards have a programmable magnetic stripe that gives customers more functions than your standard piece of plastic.

FORBES: Credit Cards Reimagined