Electronic – Can a credit card be demagnetized with a nearby cellphone

cellphoneelectromagnetismmagstripe

Suppose I have a standard credit card with a magnetic stripe, lying

  1. right on top of a cellphone, or
  2. in a regular leather wallet that's lying right on top of a cellphone.

The cellphone is on (but not in a call), uses a 3G network, and is in a good reception area.

Will the credit card be demagnetized (to the point where it can't be read) in the above 2 scenarios? If so, how long will it typically take? An answer that shows all assumptions and calculations used would be especially useful!

Best Answer

Mythbusters did this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_%28season_1%29#Eelskin_Wallet

If I recall correctly, they tried rubbing cards with magnets and cellphones, but failed to cause any damage.

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