Abstract: A system and method which allows an individual customer to select his or her own personal identification number for an ATM card through use of a telephone line. The system generally comprises a voice response unit linked to both existing telephone networks and a card encoding/embossing unit. The voice response unit is interactive to allow the acquisition and storage of data to be encoded. The system voice prompts, stores, and voice confirms the client identification data and transaction order number to the customer representative. The system then voice prompts, stores, and voice confirms to the customer his or her chosen PIN outside the range of perception of the customer representative. The system receives the requested PIN and combines it with the existing client data base. The system generates the initial encoding data and enters the data into the database. The appropriate transaction order number in the voice response unit is located, and the selected PIN is accessed.