“Credit card companies have been trying for some time to replace the magnetic strips in cards. They started with RFID, but that wasn’t the best idea. RFID chips in credit cards were a dream come true for credit card scammers and hackers,” Curtis Silver writes for Forbes. “So much so that there are products on the market with the specific purpose of blocking malicious RFID scans. Some people still don’t perceive RFID scamming as a threat, but they probably solely use Discover Card for all their purchases. RFID quickly lost favor with retailers and banks in the U.S. due to security flaws; the credit card industry also ditched RFID, opting instead to embrace EMV technology.”
“Tomorrow, retailers (some of which have already upgraded their point-of-sale terminals) will begin to feel the crunch from being behind the curve. EMV technology (Europay, Mastercard and Visa make up the acronym) in credit and debit cards is a strong upgrade from the always vulnerable magnetic strip and the ridiculous RFID idea,” Silver writes. “EMV chips are tiny microprocessors that facilitate conversation between your card and the card reader — but it still requires your pin and cannot be duplicated like a magnetic strip can. If retailers haven’t upgraded their technology — the liability for fraud shifts to them instead of the credit-card issuers. Whomever hasn’t upgraded their technology gets to write off that delicious fraud.”
“The best part for the consumer, aside from the security enhancements with EMV chips, is that the checkout experience is about to become much more exciting. By exciting I mean tedious and terrible,” Silver writes. “EMV cards require the customer to wait until the cashier is done, then hold the card against the terminal for a few seconds. Unlike swiping at any point during the transaction (which we’ve been happily doing for some time now), we have to wait. That’s right, the customer has to exhibit patience. Customer patience is already being tested by a few new payment options that make writing out a check the efficient option. Using the NFC protocol and not requiring retailers participation (they just have to have compatible payment terminals), Apple Pay, Android Pay and now Samsung Pay should incubate a subclass of therapists specializing in comforting cashiers.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’ve never held up a line using Apple Pay. In fact, we’re usually done paying before even the cashier realizes it, much less some schlub behind us in line staring at his crappy Android phone while it reboots who doesn’t even realize he could hold up the rest of the line behind him trying to pay via Google’s or Samsung’s Apple Pay wannabes.
SEE ALSO:
MCX CEO gone a day after Apple Pay lands Best Buy – April 28, 2015
Best Buy capitulates, to accept Apple Pay despite CurrentC allegiance – April 27, 2015
Major retailers see Apple Pay wave – November 17, 2014
In only 3 weeks, Apple Pay is changing how consumers pay – November 17, 2014
Boycott CVS and Rite Aid – October 27, 2014
Bad business: CVS and Rite Aid antagonize their most well-heeled customers by blocking Apple Pay – October 27, 2014
CVS stores reportedly disabling NFC to shut down Apple Pay – October 25, 2014
iPhone users earn significantly more than those who settle for Android phones – October 8, 2014
Yet more proof that Android is for poor people – June 27, 2014
More proof that Android is for poor people – May 13, 2014
Apple’s iOS dominates in richer countries, Android in poorer regions – March 25, 2014
Twitter heat map shows iPhone use by the affluent, Android by the poor – June 20, 2013
iPhone users smarter, richer than Android phone users – August 16, 2011
Yankee Group: Apple iPhone owners shop more, buy more, remain more loyal vs. other device users – July 20, 2010
