“Many merchants and retail workers are watching their lives play in slow motion when they process credit cards. To combat fraudulent transactions, the retail industry is shifting away from the traditional magnetic stripe toward tiny computer chips embedded inside cards,” Brian X. Chen writes for The New York Times. “The chip initially may annoy consumers. For most chip transactions, you have to dip the credit card into a slot and wait for the transaction to be approved before you can remove it and scribble your signature.”
“Mobile payments could be a quicker alternative,” Chen writes. “I tested chip cards and each of the mobile payments services in three different stores: Walgreens, BevMo and Nancy Boy, a small beauty supply store in San Francisco. I inserted a chip card or tapped a phone and timed how long it took each transaction to be approved and start printing a receipt. The results varied slightly, but the mobile wallets were generally much faster than the chip.”
“Apple Pay is supported by more banks than the Samsung and Android wallets,” Chen writes. “Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, said, “Users tell us they love the convenience and speed of paying with their iPhone or Apple Watch.””
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As explained in the full article, this is largely a perception issue. Leaving the card in the slot makes the transaction feel longer, but the transaction time behind-the-scenes is the same with a chipped card as it is with Apple Pay or any of the Apple Pay knockoffs. According to Chen, Visa is addressing that perception issue with Quick Chip, a coming software upgrade that will allow the terminals to instruct the customer to insert the card and then remove it right away.
Regardless, physical cards can be lost or stolen and easily used by people other than their rightful owners. Apple Pay is simply more secure as a lost or stolen iPhone or Apple Watch will generally only work for their owners thanks to Touch IS, Secure Enclave, and the way Apple Watches are secured.
People who trust Apple Pay knockoffs like Android or Samsung Pay make us laugh.
SEE ALSO:
Apple Pay coming to mobile websites this year – March 24, 2016
Apple Pay is crushing Samsung Pay – February 27, 2016
Apple Pay support reaches 1,000 U.S. banks and credit unions – February 5, 2016
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Albert P.” for the heads up.]