Floor limits were of more significance when most credit card merchants processed transactions by taking a physical imprint of the card rather than electronically swiping the magnetic strip, and obtaining an authorization required time-consuming human intervention. With modern card readers, most merchants and banks will obtain an authorization even on very small charges, as it costs little to do so and helps protect against fraud. However, the concept of a floor limit may still come into play in certain cases. A few merchants still use the older system of taking a physical imprint of the card. Additionally, if the merchant or merchant's bank has trouble contacting the customer's bank due to computer network issues, transactions under a certain floor limit will still be approved electronically immediately.