You can’t track the physical location of a credit card. However, you may be able to monitor your purchase history online or with your card issuer’s app.
This article contains general information and is not intended to provide information that is specific to American Express products and services. Similar products and services offered by different companies will have different features and you should always read about product details before acquiring any financial product.
If you can’t find your credit card, it’s important to contact your credit card issuer promptly to report the missing card.
If you’ve lost your credit card or debit card, you may be wondering if there’s a way to track your card, perhaps by using the chip. However, you can’t track your card this way. In this article, we’ll look at why you can’t track a credit card, and what you should do if your card is missing.
The short answer is no, your card’s physical location can’t be tracked, and the chip in your card doesn’t contain a tracking system. Many credit cards today contain EMV chips (which stands for Europay, Mastercard & Visa). While your card’s chip offers security features that can help to protect your credit card account and identity, it’s not trackable. 1 However, you can monitor your transaction history using your credit card issuer’s app or through your online account. This could help you to remember the most recent location where your card was used. Additionally, banks and other financial institutions can monitor purchases to help prevent fraud. For example, they can track the activity of credit cards and can see locations where a card was used. Some credit cards also offer mobile verification confirmation, which allows them to monitor for signs of fraud by tracking your cell phone location (not your card’s chip). This allows them to confirm whether you are in the same location as your credit card when a transaction is taking place. 2 However, despite these measures, credit card issuers cannot track the exact location of a missing card.
