Abstract: An apparatus for reading a digital data word stored on a manually inserted card. The card includes a digital data word comprising a plurality of encoded characters stored on the card in the form of a two dimensional data matrix. Each column of the data matrix includes a binary data word representative of one of the encoded characters.The card reader includes a linear array of row data detection elements and a linear array of column data detection elements. As a card is inserted into the reader, the column data detection elements detect and store the data bits for each of the characters from the rows of the data matrix as those rows pass the column data detection element array. The row data detection array identifies the detected column data with the corresponding row of the data matrix which is currently passing the column data detection element array. Following full insertion of that card into the reader, the complete data matrix may be read out from the card reader memory.