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Hopefully this pushes more and more restaurants towards using separate chip-reader (EMV) pinpad devices. I've noticed several area restaurants switching lately

Hopefully this pushes more and more restaurants towards using separate chip-reader (EMV) pinpad devices. I've noticed several area restaurants switching lately (Arby's, Wendy's), and I hope it continues. These devices use point-to-point encryption, meaning that even if the POS machine is comprimised, no sensitive card data can be stolen. The POS machine never sees raw card data.

toomuchtodo 9y ago
Would you suggest reporting a card lost to get a new number issued if it was used at one of these locations?
- heywire 9y ago
  Definitely if you used a debit card, since it could take a couple days to get any fraudulent charges reversed. Probably less important if you used a credit card, since you'll not have to pay for those charges and they'll just send you a new card at that point. I guess it just depends on if you want to be inconvenienced now or later :) I personally used my credit card at one of the affected stores, and I do not plan on calling in to have my card number changed. I'll just keep a close eye on my statements (that, and I have alerts sent to my phone via SMS for any charge over $0.01, so I'd know pretty quickly)
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    I have an Amex charge card with push notifications, so I'm going to let it ride. Thank you for the reply!
    - heywire 9y ago
      Amex is probably the company I'd trust the most to handle the situation. I've never been let down by their customer service.
mmanfrin 9y ago
Chipreaders are terribly slow, I don't understand how they could not develop a secure payment system without 10-second~ delay times. My local grocery store installed new chip readers and within a week had taped over time in favor of the more-expensive but quicker stripe processing.
- heywire 9y ago
  Unfortunately when you need the chip in the card to sign the transaction details before sending to the bank, validate the response from the bank, and all of the steps in between, it takes a lot of time. There is a ton of work going into making this process faster. Things like EMV Quick Chip and contactless EMV (tap and pay) are quicker, and should be coming to retailers in the US soon. Of course we also have the option of Apple/Android Pay, which is somewhere in the middle.
- saidajigumi 9y ago
  Hilariously, using contactless EMV payment (i.e. Apple/Android Pay) with the same POS terminals is lightning fast. But this gets filed as "infrastructure is hard". A related example: If you get a chance, try the IC card system used by the train and transit systems in Japan; they're delightful.[1] At peak rush-hour, commuters are darn near running through the (many) pay stations tapping through without breaking stride -- including display of remaining balance! Yet, the relatively recent transit tap card system where I live is laughingly slow. At a much more modest walking pace, it's easy to pull away from the reader before it's confirmed the transaction. Seconds per commuter, for system that's considerably newer than the IC card system.
  - heywire 9y ago
    Something to keep in mind is that Apple/Android Pay support both MSD (magnetic stripe data) and EMV contactless modes, which can result in different timings. EMV contactless also drops significant portions of the EMV contact requirements. This is why banks generally won't let you get cash back, or make large purchases on contactless, there's a trade off.
throwaway91111 9y ago
Not much point until they require chips for credit card charges.

toomuchtodo 9y ago

Would you suggest reporting a card lost to get a new number issued if it was used at one of these locations?

heywire 9y ago
Definitely if you used a debit card, since it could take a couple days to get any fraudulent charges reversed. Probably less important if you used a credit card, since you'll not have to pay for those charges and they'll just send you a new card at that point. I guess it just depends on if you want to be inconvenienced now or later :) I personally used my credit card at one of the affected stores, and I do not plan on calling in to have my card number changed. I'll just keep a close eye on my statements (that, and I have alerts sent to my phone via SMS for any charge over $0.01, so I'd know pretty quickly)
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  I have an Amex charge card with push notifications, so I'm going to let it ride. Thank you for the reply!
  - heywire 9y ago
    Amex is probably the company I'd trust the most to handle the situation. I've never been let down by their customer service.

mmanfrin 9y ago

Chipreaders are terribly slow, I don't understand how they could not develop a secure payment system without 10-second~ delay times. My local grocery store installed new chip readers and within a week had taped over time in favor of the more-expensive but quicker stripe processing.

heywire 9y ago
Unfortunately when you need the chip in the card to sign the transaction details before sending to the bank, validate the response from the bank, and all of the steps in between, it takes a lot of time. There is a ton of work going into making this process faster. Things like EMV Quick Chip and contactless EMV (tap and pay) are quicker, and should be coming to retailers in the US soon. Of course we also have the option of Apple/Android Pay, which is somewhere in the middle.
saidajigumi 9y ago
Hilariously, using contactless EMV payment (i.e. Apple/Android Pay) with the same POS terminals is lightning fast. But this gets filed as "infrastructure is hard". A related example: If you get a chance, try the IC card system used by the train and transit systems in Japan; they're delightful.[1] At peak rush-hour, commuters are darn near running through the (many) pay stations tapping through without breaking stride -- including display of remaining balance! Yet, the relatively recent transit tap card system where I live is laughingly slow. At a much more modest walking pace, it's easy to pull away from the reader before it's confirmed the transaction. Seconds per commuter, for system that's considerably newer than the IC card system.
- heywire 9y ago
  Something to keep in mind is that Apple/Android Pay support both MSD (magnetic stripe data) and EMV contactless modes, which can result in different timings. EMV contactless also drops significant portions of the EMV contact requirements. This is why banks generally won't let you get cash back, or make large purchases on contactless, there's a trade off.

throwaway91111 9y ago

Not much point until they require chips for credit card charges.