# How do you remember your ATM PIN? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510 "2011-04-23T22:39:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/21 "2011-04-24T05:09:17Z")
I have two ATM cards, one for personal and one for work. One of them is a meaningful number but the other I seem to recall best by pattern. It was really awkward one day when I was with a friend and he was driving, and I had to tell him my PIN to use my card. I couldn’t remember it at all (that’s the one I know by pattern). Then, I got out of the car and tried to do it myself and I STILL couldn’t do it. I actually know that # to that one a little better now. At least where it starts. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/22 "2011-04-24T06:47:33Z")
My PIN was originally the alarm code at the first place I ever worked. It’s a random number and since I’d already memorized it I used it for my first PIN when I opened my first checking account. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/23 "2011-04-24T11:47:13Z")
I chose my PIN for my only debit/ATM card, and it is, against the advice of security people, a birthday. It is, however, not my birthday, nor that of anyone I’ve ever met. Whose birthday is known only to me and my mother (who knows the number) and even if someone could figure out that my PIN is the birthday of someone within the organization that the person is a part of, they’d have to figure out _which_ person in that organization’s birthday I chose, and in what form. It feels reasonably secure. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/24 "2011-04-24T12:02:47Z")
I have _never_ used an ATM, nor do I wish to. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/25 "2011-04-24T12:03:40Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Yes, but I remember it neither for the number, nor for its pattern on the keypad, I remember it only by its significance and the numbers which result from its actual meaning. 🙂 Yes, mine is a year that has special significance for me. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/26 "2011-04-24T12:12:31Z")
> [@YoSaffBridge](#): > > I’ve used the same PIN for my debit card for years. It’s the one that was assigned to me waaaaay back when I got my first debit card. Many years and a couple of banks later, I still use that same PIN. This. But also, it happened to be a pattern of numbers that I was planning on using anyway. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/27 "2011-04-24T12:33:49Z")
Numbers, I guess. I just remember it, though - I didn’t have to consciously memorise it; it’s only four digits. > [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > You guys get to choose your PINs? I just had it handed to me, no questions asked. At least it stays the same but if there’s a long period when I’m not using it I tend to have difficulty in remembering it when I actually need it. If you have a fiddle around with the options when you’re withdrawing money, you might find one that lets you change your pin. > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I have _never_ used an ATM, nor do I wish to. Wow - I doubt anyone in Britain could say that unless they were under 16 or had some disability stopping them from using an ATM. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/28 "2011-04-24T20:16:23Z")
STOP!! IT’S A TRICK BY THE OP TO STEAL OUR ATM PIN!! > [@Marc\_Xenos](#): > > In NYC, it’s not unusual for apartment doors to have six separate deadbolt locks on them. It’s a little ususual. > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I have _never_ used an ATM, nor do I wish to. That’s just weird. Do you prefer to keep your excess cash in a matress or jars burried in the backyard? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/29 "2011-04-24T21:12:01Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > Yes, mine is a year that has special significance for me. A _magical_ one perchance? That is what mine references, a rather magical time in my life. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/30 "2011-04-24T22:21:13Z")
The pattern on the keypad. If I try to type in a phone PIN on a keyboard or vice versa, it takes forever because my fingers go to the 1 when they should go to the 7 &tc. And one of my phones has a circular keypad. Typing in PINs there is nearly impossible. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/31 "2011-04-24T23:05:05Z")
Once you have a single PIN memorized (i.e. the one you always had), you can easily write down all of your others on a business card, without worry. Just add your favorite PIN to the new one using “clock” math (a.k.a. modulo math) and write down the result. The explanation sounds more complicated that it really is. Example: My favorite PIN is 2855 I have a new PIN that is 9123 ## Add them together, ignoring carry: 9123 +2855 \<-- My standard PIN 1978 \<— Write this down in your wallet. Now, when you need to decode the number, reverse the process, with modulo subtraction instead. Do each digit in isolation, with no borrowing: ## 1978 \<-- Number read from card in wallet -2855 \<-- My standard PIN 9123 \<-- decoded PIN Note that in this example, the first digit is (1 - 2). Just add 10 if the result is negative. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/32 "2011-04-24T23:09:55Z")
> [@Marc\_Xenos](#): > > In NYC, it’s not unusual for apartment doors to have six separate deadbolt locks on them. One guy says that he only locks every other one. Therefore, no matter how many of them a burglar can pick, they’re always locking some while unlocking the others. Personally, if I have to worry about burglars who can pick 6 locks quickly, then it’s probably easier to just move to a safer area. Sounds more like a joke about urban life, probably from some sitcom. Any ne’er-do-well who can pick a lock has studied them enough to know exactly which direction will unlock a lock and which will lock it. They even have special gadgets for quickly spinning the cylinder in the opposite direction from the way they picked it, in case it was much easier to pick in the “wrong” direction. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/33 "2011-04-24T23:21:21Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > You guys get to choose your PINs? Bank of America Military Bank gives the option of specifying the PIN or having a random one issued with the card. I did the former with my current debit card; it’s the first four numbers from my previous card. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/34 "2011-04-25T00:38:15Z")
Huh. In Japan they’ll rearrange the keyboard numbers, presumably to deter people watching you put in your number and seeing which buttons you pushed. Heck, the lock on my work building flips the numbers around all the time too. So the keyboard thang wouldn’t work here. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/35 "2011-04-25T00:40:28Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Magical third option, numbers that only mean something to me. This worked for me with my Very Firstest PIN Ever. It happened to be the Post Code where a friend lived. So, easy peasy. Sadly for me, every PIN since has meant nothing, so I’ve had to resort to remembering the actual digits. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/36 "2011-04-25T00:52:28Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > Do people only have one PIN for everything? I have a different PIN for each of my debit cards (2) and credit cards (4) and they’re all differently remembered. > > Some are words (the magical third option), some are number combinations I remember, and others are by pattern of typing. > > I figure if someone steals my wallet and figures out one PIN, then they’re less likely to figure out the others, so at least it’ll take them a while to clear me out. I only have one debit card, and no pins on my CC. Why would you need a pin on a credit card, anyway? Our pin for our debit cards is one my husband has had forever. I memorized it years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/37 "2011-04-25T01:13:32Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > That’s just weird. Do you prefer to keep your excess cash in a matress or jars burried in the backyard? I have a secret panel in my head.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/38 "2011-04-25T01:16:53Z")
Mine is based on letters. So I remember it by the letters. ---
**Author:** ![tugboats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@tugboats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tugboats)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/39 "2011-04-25T02:02:24Z")
I have it written on my forehead and I ask the cashier to input it for me. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510/40 "2011-04-25T02:15:34Z")
I don’t remember if you Yanks have this, but in Canada our ATMs have letters over the numbers, kinda like you do on a touch tone phone. So yeah, I spelt a word. Option three. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-remember-your-atm-pin/579510.md?page=3)