Electronic Draft Capture

Electronic draft capture (EDC) has replaced card impressions as the preferred method of obtaining personal details for credit card transactions. Instead of using a manual machine for creating an imprint of the embossed card data, the information is electronically captured via a card reader at the point of sale.

When a buyer swipes or dips a payment card, the reader retrieves the customer’s financial information, records the draft (amount due), and submits the request for the transaction. Once the transaction is finalized, the information is batched for later processing. All this happens automatically and in real time, leaving no physical record that could be lost or stolen. It’s safer, faster, and more accurate than legacy methods, and also allows merchants to take payments over the internet.