Aspects described herein may allow for a payment card assembly including a payment card having a first surface and an opposed second surface, and being formed of a biodegradable plastic. A Europay, Mastercard, and Visa (EMV) chip may be removably secured to the payment card. One or more plant seeds may be embedded in the payment card.

Example embodiments of biodegradable cards and systems and methods making the same are provided. A biodegradable card can comprise a biodegradable substrate, a magnetic particle slot within the biodegradable substrate configured to receive magnetic particles, a high coercivity magnetic stripe comprising magnetic particles printed on the biodegradable substrate and encoded with payment account data, and a biodegradable water resistant coating, wherein the coating covers at least the magnetic stripe.

In a printed article, pigment flakes are magnetically aligned so as to form curved patterns in a plurality of cross-sections normal a continuous imaginary line, wherein radii of the curved patterns increase along the imaginary line from the first point to the second point. When light is incident upon the aligned pigment flakes from a light source, light reflected from the aligned pattern forms a bright image which appears to gradually change its shape and move from one side of the continuous imaginary line to another side of the continuous imaginary line when the substrate is tilted with respect to the light source.

In a printed article, pigment flakes are magnetically aligned so as to form curved patterns in a plurality of cross-sections normal a continuous imaginary line, wherein radii of the curved patterns increase along the imaginary line from the first point to the second point. When light is incident upon the aligned pigment flakes from a light source, light reflected from the aligned pattern forms a bright image which appears to gradually change its shape and move from one side of the continuous imaginary line to another side of the continuous imaginary line when the substrate is tilted with respect to the light source.

This disclosure is directed to an electronic identification card or electronic card having various features. The electronic card may include an integrated circuit and a contact plate for electrically interfacing with the integrated circuit. The contact plate may include an array of terminal electrodes that are offset with respect to the edges of the contact plate. The electronic card may be coated with a coating layer that extends at least partially over a ferromagnetic element or film. The electronic card may also include a metal substrate having exposed chamfer portions that may provide a visual contrast to the coating layer and also improve the handling and use of the electronic card.

A flake including a layer of a diamagnetic material; and at least one additional layer is disclosed. The flake, such as a plurality of flakes, can be dispersed in a liquid medium to form a composition. The composition can be applied to a surface of a substrate to form a security device. A method of making the security device is also disclosed.

According to examples, a substrate may be moved through a magnetic field, in which the substrate includes a fluid carrier containing magnetically-orientable flakes. The magnetic field may influence the magnetically-orientable flakes to be respectively oriented in one of multiple orientations. In addition, during movement of the substrate through the magnetic field, radiation may be applied onto a plurality of selected portions of the fluid carrier through at least one opening in a mask to cure the fluid carrier at the plurality of selected portions and fix the magnetically-orientable flakes in the plurality of selected portions at the respective angular orientations as influenced by the magnetic field.

According to examples, a substrate may be moved through a magnetic field, in which the substrate includes a fluid carrier containing magnetically-orientable flakes. The magnetic field may influence the magnetically-orientable flakes to be respectively oriented in one of multiple orientations. In addition, during movement of the substrate through the magnetic field, radiation may be applied onto a plurality of selected portions of the fluid carrier through at least one opening in a mask to cure the fluid carrier at the plurality of selected portions and fix the magnetically-orientable flakes in the plurality of selected portions at the respective angular orientations as influenced by the magnetic field.

An article is authenticated by providing a magnetic security mark in the form of an optically-passive randomly-generated nanoscale magnetic pattern. The pattern is pre-imaged and this reference image is uploaded to a secure database along with an identifier for the article such as a serial number. A user of the article verifies its authenticity by scanning it magnetically to obtain a scanned image of the magnetic pattern. The serial number is used to retrieve the previously uploaded reference image which is compared to the scanned image. If the images match, the article's authenticity is confirmed. A single article may have multiple magnetic security marks, each unique, placed at predetermined, non-uniform locations. The magnetic patterns are generated using thin film deposition of yttrium iron garnet. In one embodiment the article is a physical key having additional security features, such as mechanical features and a radio-frequency identification chip.

An article is authenticated by providing a magnetic security mark in the form of an optically-passive randomly-generated nanoscale magnetic pattern. The pattern is pre-imaged and this reference image is uploaded to a secure database along with an identifier for the article such as a serial number. A user of the article verifies its authenticity by scanning it magnetically to obtain a scanned image of the magnetic pattern. The serial number is used to retrieve the previously uploaded reference image which is compared to the scanned image. If the images match, the article's authenticity is confirmed. A single article may have multiple magnetic security marks, each unique, placed at predetermined, non-uniform locations. The magnetic patterns are generated using thin film deposition of yttrium iron garnet. In one embodiment the article is a physical key having additional security features, such as mechanical features and a radio-frequency identification chip.