May 19th, 2005
Why the New “Contactless” Credit Cards Are a Nightmare
I don’t usually cut and paste news without writing my own commentary and opinion on the topic, but today I was reading about a new “wave and go” credit card technology and this posting on TechDirt hit the nail on the head. Couldn’t have said it any better myself:
“The idea of “contactless payment” systems seems to get a lot of attention. Despite being around for quite some time already, there are a number of initiatives underway, with the latest coming out of JP Morgan Chase, with a new contactless credit card solution called “Blink.” Basically, it’s a regular credit card — and in most places you wouldn’t use it any differently than a regular credit card. However, in the few places that have been convinced to install special proprietary point of sales readers, you’ll be able to just wave your credit card at the reader, rather than scanning it — a la the Exxon Mobile Speedpass thing. But, here’s the problem. It’s not Speedpass. It’s not FeliCa (from Japan). It’s not Dexit (from Canada). It’s not Moneta (from Korea) or any other of the contactless payment solutions that keep coming out. So, McDonald’s has already chosen to work with Speedpass. Are they now going to install another set of proprietary equipment to work with this Blink card as well? And, oh yeah, Bank of America already has their own similar system for restaurants that doesn’t appear to be compatible with either of these also. Oh, and don’t forget the solution that AT&T Wireless (now Cingular) created last year as well. This basically makes such an offering less useful for everyone. People who find it useful would need to get new devices/cards from every provider, and retailers aren’t going to want to install a different point of sale system from each of these providers. At least in Japan they’re trying to standardize around FeliCa. And, then, of course, there’s the question of whether or not most people really care? Is swiping a credit card really so hard?” Source: TechDirt
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David says:
Yeah, I don’t think that swiping your card is really any harder than waving a card or other device over a pad. Also it seems to me that since it’s supposed to work somewhat wirelessly that it could be a potential security risk (someone walking around with a portable scanner of some kind and waving it around people’s pockets).
May 19th, 2005 at 5:01 pm
Ray says:
I know, I know! The “Standardisation” we really need is whether to swipe our credit card face up or face down. If we can just get that standardised, then no one will demand to “wave” anything around. Every time I get that “Turn your card over” from the checker at the grocery store, I feel like waving a lot of things around: middle fingers, fists, etc.
May 19th, 2005 at 8:25 pm
David says:
Aren’t there some scanners which are double-sided and will read either way? If there aren’t there should be.
May 19th, 2005 at 9:27 pm
Alice says:
I am curious about the wireless risk. Why did credit card companies get so lax - you used to have photo id and now you can wave at a machine? How can they handle the fraud level?
May 19th, 2005 at 10:41 pm
Mgmt says:
The credit card image is copy righted. PLEASE REMOVE FROM YOUR ARTICLE.
http://www.lehigh.edu/~jps3/
May 20th, 2005 at 1:31 am
John says:
What happens when you walk too close to a ‘receiver’ just as someone else is about to pay, will you accidentally pay their bill?
May 20th, 2005 at 1:53 am
Gil Bates says:
oh my! someone actually used a piece of crappy clip-art from another website! this is despicable. btw, copyright is one word, wanker.
May 20th, 2005 at 1:58 am
Matthew Schultz says:
Mgmt
“Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:
Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents”
May 20th, 2005 at 2:05 am
Matthew Schultz says:
Forgot the link:
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wnp
May 20th, 2005 at 2:06 am
john says:
So can people charge your card by waving the reader by your pocket… pickpockets are out of date… next time yout on the underground watch out for hobo’s stroking your pockets!!
May 20th, 2005 at 2:47 am
SineSwiper says:
“The credit card image is copy righted. PLEASE REMOVE FROM YOUR ARTICLE.”
The moment you posted a URL with a tilde (~) in it, you lost all credibility in your argument. Go f**k yourself!
May 20th, 2005 at 2:57 am
phil says:
i’m amazed that the guy with the image of the credit card evend FOUND this page–strange coincidence? but really, it’s not like the new star wars flick; it’s just a fake image of a credit card…
May 20th, 2005 at 4:34 am
GmanUK says:
I may not be very original in what I am about to say… however….. Take that image, photoshop one of the digits or apply a filter, hey presto not the original…. anyway it’s just an image of a credit card… we’ve seen them before, well mine is in two… I can send a picture of the scissors I used.. would that help?
As for the original article, in theory it is a good idea, however it is not really needed at present, I mean buy a bigMac (patent pending) and get your card swiped, whats the difference. obviously I can see SOME difference (for all you pedants, I for one am such) but this can be scanned….. watch out Starbucks….
There was a techno dude in the uk called Scanner, who believe it or not used to scan cell phone (we call them mobiles..lol) conversations and put them to ambient music… all very trippy after a few doobs of course… the point is the concept is sound the technology however is not as yet….
sorry to much coffee..
Peace
Gman(UK)
May 20th, 2005 at 5:14 am
Jorge says:
Can’t really see what the big issue of the credit card image is… If it was a unique, rare thing, sure. But a mock credit card?
Of course, if it’s your ip, I guess you’re entitled to it…
Christ.
Waving credit cards… imagine the fraud this will allow. You’ll be robbed blind and you never knew, literally, what hit you. That’s progress for you.
/believes in the power of technology, doesn’t believe in the automatic assumption of the kindness of strangers.
May 20th, 2005 at 5:20 am
Bo Dudley says:
Why replace swiping? Friction wears your credit card down…plus it’s one step away from freedom from cash AND card.
Now, this technology is still in diapers, crapping it’s pants, however when it matures, it will be the standard until they can eliminate the card altogether.
May 20th, 2005 at 5:35 am
troy says:
if the card goes away my bet is that the gubment will be putting the tech on your national ID card that they just passed. And then they can keep track of your spending that way.
be afraid of the baby steps people. this stuff is terrifying.
ok i am going away to put my tin foil hat back on, but seriously do everything you can to stop the national ID card or you may be hearing “Papers Please” a lot more than you should.
May 20th, 2005 at 5:54 am
Joe Mama says:
I guarantee credit card fraud teams will be happy to equip themselves with every proprietary “speed pass” system to swipe your info. They’ll be about the only ones, though…
May 20th, 2005 at 5:59 am
FLEB says:
– I may not be very original in what I am about to say… however….. Take that image, photoshop one of the digits or apply a filter, hey presto not the original… –
Nope, it’s a derivative work, also protected under (US, YMMV) copyright.
May 20th, 2005 at 6:11 am
james says:
three things:
1) it looks as though the credit card image was actually created who posted, unless the poster was just acting in the benefit of this jason character. see the name on the image? see the initials in the university hosting account? also, it’s a fake bank.
b) having a tilde (~) in the url generally indicates that the server is Unix or that the admin is/was a Unix user. It’s an old throwback with very slight justification, but don’t let his university’s old Unix silliness reflect poorly on ole jason…
iii) ok…about the article.
i worked, in high school and college, for a chain drug store (luckily i was in the photo lab). We didn’t use any of these key fob systems, but we did take credit/debit cards - using those horrible customer-input pads.
So many customers had problems (wrong sided-swipe, swiping too fast/slow, not paying attention to the onscreen instructions, wanting credit but getting debit or vice versa, etc) that I eventually started just spinning the thing around and taking their credit cards, then asking them to enter their PIN or justing giving them a receipt to sign. It was faster and less frustrating all around, and most of them appreciated it. The one’s that didn’t reached for the pad first anyway, so I let them do their thing if they knew what they were doing.
My point being that the efforts by various entities, aimed at giving consumers an easier way to commit the payment act, end up simply confusing the vast majority of people. Obviously not you and I, but we’re not the vast majority.
Also, when talking about all this rfid and wireless waving bs, it always occurs to me that having a system that passively transmits your financial data on activation by an external reader is akin to walking around reciting your credit card information to every passerby who cares to ask.
The banks need to get together and decide on a secure standard before they start rolling out these services in competition with each other. It may be good for individual banks’ potential business, but it is terrible for consumers.
Unfortunately, the current u.s. government’s concern for consumers seems to only cover preventing them from seeing nipples or ever hearing the f word.
May 20th, 2005 at 7:07 am
Rob says:
Yep For us americans (Think lazy asses)it is.
May 20th, 2005 at 7:15 am
Damien says:
oh yeah.. this is a brilliant idea. the potential for fraud is so high that i cant imagine any banks wanting to do it. not to mention the differences in all the different POS systems. wen it comes to not actually swiping my card… i think i will just wait until i have mastered the Jedi mind trick… waves hand.. “You do not require me to pay for this”
May 20th, 2005 at 7:23 am
Matt Taylor says:
Its just a commercial form of natural selection, really.
It is good to have competition, so that the best application of the technology has a chance to surface amidst the contenders. Eventually, the consumer in general will either not adopt the idea at all, or one variation which seems to be more convenient than the rest will rise above.
My guess is that, either a few vendors will work out a deal to provide a wider selection, one one card in particular will shine simply because of added useability. (probably a credit-card-phone-pda-game-console-internet-browser version.)
May 20th, 2005 at 7:40 am
Alice says:
I changed the picture. I had no idea it was protected. To get an image of something generic, I search on the word “credit Card” in google images, and ton show up. I pick one and upload to my site. Didn’t think that was a violation since it is being used as clip art and not to signify a particular product or service. My apologies.
May 20th, 2005 at 8:23 am
To0n says:
As a former retail worker, I can see how this can be a boon AND a bust to both retailers and consumers.
First the good news:
Dependent on your local store, most retailers use 1 of 3 systems. Either a stand alone swipe pad where the customer swipes, pushes in their pin/makes their credit selection, a touch screen stand alone (Think like the last except with a stylus pen), or a scan reader in the actual Point of Sale terminal itself.
Each of these has a downside. External point of sale swipes require the individual to pay attention to what they’re doing, subject to bad swipes, and in the case of the touch screen stylus one, people actually ripping out the stylus, thinking that that cord attached to it is merely string, and not wiring. Internal POS swipes are of concern for because if a bad swipe somehow breaks it, the whole POS terminal is for crap, and require a really good swipe (Expert register jockeys who have a thin plastic bag next to them at the register know what I’m talking about).
Also, the swipes on the POS terminal can be of concern to the super security conscious (Yes, I’ve had people yell at me to not look at their numbers while swiping… yes they were strange people… yes, I know, but I can’t very well curse out people while at work, no matter how much I’d love to. I know, I’ve seen Clerks too and loved it, but that sort of thing doesn’t fly to well when you have bosses.)
A swipeless system is a boon to the retailers and customers, as it can speed up checkout times (Like YOU have never been stuck at the back end of a line of someone trying to swipe a de-magnetized credit/debit card), ease of use for the register jockey and the customer, and best of all, less useless 1.5″x2.5″ (approx) hunks of plastic to snip, slice, shred, especially when they flood your snail mailbox.
Now the bust part
As mentioned above, are these swipeless systems secure? - Mobile scanners, accidental usage (walking too close to an active pad), wireless signal security, identity theft… the list goes on. While my list is small, these are some pretty big issues that need to be dealt with first, before any of these older swipe systems could be phased out.
Honestly I would like to see this technology developed and standardized and made as secure as possible before it gets implemented – imagine being able to use this at drive-thrus – no more having to worry about correct change, entering pin numbers etc. This, coupled with RFID technology could make a dash in and out of a grocery store just that.
Then again, I’m just a college undergrad, so what do I know.
May 20th, 2005 at 8:53 am
keyboardcowboy says:
But, swiping your card require more muscles and energy due to the resistance of plastic through card slot. The rascal was a genius invention and so is this one. Sign me up Scotty, lol. {; P
May 20th, 2005 at 8:56 am
Eduardo says:
I wonder who holds the “patent” on swipeless payment? Must be SCO.
May 20th, 2005 at 9:32 am
Joe says:
I work for a To 5 issuer, (NOT CHASE), and the idea to me is dumb. Lets not even get into the increased security concerns, but issuers already don’t do AMEX/Discover for the reason of different systems and different interchange rates, but if Visa and Mastercard start pushing for different ways to scan, it just gets ridiculous. The US has always been about innovation and letting the market decide what it wants, but it comes to bite us in the butt sometimes. Maybe we will realize this when we go to the store and have one of 73 options of how to scan a card to choose from.
May 20th, 2005 at 9:43 am
PrivacyMan says:
How could this tech work for everyone?
First, we all need a simple national id card with a button on it (or an implanted chip in our right hand or forehead for you religious nuts) or a biometric reader (finger print, retina scan, whatever)
Second, we need a way to activate the ID Card (or implant) manually (never remotely!) for a couple seconds while we wave our choice of credit cards (or just identify ourselves by having our finger or eye scanned)
The reader first finds out whom the card belongs to and who is authorized to use the card, then it checks who you are.
If the personal ID can’t be activated remotely, then the whole system becomes secure. If it’s an implant, retina scan, or fingerprint then no one can steal your identifier, and therefore it’s 100% secure.
I kind of like the idea of waving my credit card at a pop machine when I don’t have the change, and I like the idea of no one else being able to use my cards.
And about the national ID card.
Imagine being able to loose your purse/wallet and not have any personal information in it. No address, no phone number, no name. Just an id card (no driver’s license) with your picture, and your birth date for beer runs. If you left your keys in your purse, whoever found it would have no idea of where you live, so you wouldn’t need to get the locks changed on every door in your house. Not to mention when you get into an accident and you’re alone and unable to communicate, the meds can take your ID card and find your entire medical history, including allergies and medications you’re currently taking.
Lot’s of good things by going to a national ID card.
Bad things? I have yet to hear one bad thing that a national ID card creates that doesn’t already exist. I can go to a service on the Internet and find out anything about anyone as long as it’s in the public domain. How much you paid for your house, how much you make, and how many kids you have and they’re names, all the places you’ve lived, any crimes you committed, where your kids go to school. Other sites contain information about the food, products, and services you consume. You probably even get a summary of everything you bought last year from your credit card company. The detail shows up on your bill, so it’s in a computer somewhere. The fact that I can’t see your medical history isn’t because you don’t have a national id card or that it’s not in a computer somewhere, it’s because we the people have laws that say that information is not in the public domain.
I am really looking forward to the day I can go into a store, grab a gallon of milk and put my thumb on an area on the door as I walk out, without waiting in a checkout line. Keep that technology coming!!!!
May 20th, 2005 at 10:48 am
annoyedwithignorance says:
Well Mr. PrivacyMan,
If your scenario ever happens, I bet you’ll never see it coming.
You know, when you grab some groceries, put your thumbprint on the device, and walk out with your purchase. Then, as you are getting in your car, someone knocks you out. When you wake up, you have no thumb!
Dammit, wheres my thumb! Holy Crap, wheres my car! Why wont the hospital believe me, I have insurance! Here look at my.. stub.. crap.. I have no thumb…
You enjoy yourself mr thumbless, because you wished it upon yourself. By the way, you’re bank account would be cleaned out immediatly through an ATM, probably with your still warm thumb…
O_o
May 20th, 2005 at 12:42 pm
Andrew Lenahan says:
Sounds like a solution in search of a problem.
In all seriousness, with so many minor annoyances and inconveniences in daily life, it’s amusing that people work so hard to solve something virtually nobody complains about, like swiping credit cards through a little slot.
May 20th, 2005 at 1:15 pm
Maybe says:
The *wave to pay* idea is just another step, in my mind, to get people to NOT THINK ABOUT WHERE THEY ARE SPENDING THEIR MONEY! The debit cards did away with paper checks (for most people), and we no longer pay that much attention to how much we just spent on Carrot-Top movies, and bunny slippers. Yeah, it takes a moment to swipe the card and go through the motions of paying for our purchases, but that attaches us to the action of buying, rather than just making us mindless, zombie consumers. “What’s in your wallett?” … It certainly won’t be a *wave to pay* credit card.
May 20th, 2005 at 1:35 pm
o[-_-]o says:
Hmmm….
A national ID card?
Next, you will learn to say
“Es ist Zeit für Rache!”
“Wir müssen die Juden ausrotten.”
“Töten sie die Juden!”
“Wir können nicht noch stehen, bis alle tot sind!”
Everyone, get in the train……
When we get to our destination, you will take a shower….
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