6 ms·

> Credit card workflow: > - Cashier tells you the total amount > - You look in your wallet/purse > - You swipe card/insert in chip reader > - Done You forg

> Credit card workflow: > - Cashier tells you the total amount > - You look in your wallet/purse > - You swipe card/insert in chip reader > - Done You forgot the part where you have to enter you PIN and wait for the transaction to go through, or sign the receipt.

fleg 9y ago
Contactless payments don't need PIN (up to some small but comfortable amount) and go through almost instantly.
- wongarsu 9y ago
  But Germans don't trust contactless payment because in theory anybody could hold a card reader against your wallet while you're innocently waiting in some line.
  - Symbiote 9y ago
    And just what would they do with it? That seems an easy way to get your merchant account cancelled very, very quickly.
    - herbst 9y ago
      But why would they care? Stripe does payments every 3 days or so and you can easily create more accounts. I never ever checked my credit card history, and I assume many people who only use it as secondary payment system don't. It's easy as fuck therefore IMO a valid scenario.
      - Symbiote 9y ago
        Without the CVC code, Stripe isn't going to accept the payment. Even if it did, the bank is likely to block the transaction, or call/text for verification.
        jhasse 9y ago
        > CVC code I heard that those are very easy to crack. It might have been this article from 2011 where I read about this (German, sorry): http://www.zeit.de/2011/21/Kreditkarten-Sicherheit http://www.zeit.de/2011/21/Kreditkarten-Sicherheit
        herbst 9y ago
        Not to mention half of the database leaks in recent years, especially of porn sites, contained them anyway
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - faceplanted 9y ago
    The defence against that for me is that I have like 6 rfid enabled cards in my wallet, between my Oyster Card, student ID, library card, key card to access my work building, you can't scan any of them without taking it out individually.
    - thesmok 9y ago
      I carry two contactless cards: the metro pass and an office key. They are just taped together (because I want to make sure I always have both) and still reliably work, so I doubt you are protected.
      - faceplanted 9y ago
        I have tried many times to use a single one of them without the other 5 interfering and it has literally never worked.
- Sleeep 9y ago
  I tried to use android pay for a few months. In theory its great (and it's great when it works!) but like 30% of the time it doesn't really work the first time, you have to play around with it on the card reader. Then the phone vibrates like it worked but nothing happens. You look at the phone and it says "please hold the card to the reader again." and despite Subway accepting android pay (and the cashiers insisting that it works for everyone else) whenever I try to use it there I get a message "please insert card." I was never able to figure out the workflow to get it to work on a vending machine. Also the first time I used it I froze the register. So 70% of the time it saves time and 30% of the time it wastes time. Then I broke my phone and bought a replacement without NFC so I don't have the option anymore anyways. It's a great system, however, I think the kinks need to be worked out a little. (I had a Nexus 5x FYI)
  - celticninja 9y ago
    Contactless debit cards are a lot more reliable than phones, mainly because they have one unique job. My card plays up now and again but that is only since it went through the tumble dryer, which distorted the card and seems to have affected the reliability of the NFC chip, in practice this means I sometimes need to tap twice.
codegeek 9y ago
Another difference between American and other systems. Credit cards in US don't have PIN numbers. Only Debit cards have PIN.
- StavrosK 9y ago
  Yeah, but you have to sign, which is worse.
- planteen 9y ago
  They do have PINs, just most people don't know what they are. You can use the PIN to withdraw cash from an ATM at a ridiculous interest rate. I recently was using my credit card in Iceland at a gas pump where I was prompted for a PIN.
hobo_mark 9y ago
That's because, as I was shocked to find out, most POS in the US don't ask for a PIN! Convenient indeed, until someone gets ahold of your card.
- codegeek 9y ago
  Almost all credit cards are 0 liability to the consumer. Even if someone gets a hold of my card, I can call the credit card company and get all fraud charges reversed. That's why I personally always use a credit card EVERYWHERE. I hate cash and I hate to wait in lines. But sure, they have an electronic trail on me which frankly, I don't care too much about. If the Govt wants to get you, they WILL get you.
  - pmoriarty 9y ago
    "Almost all credit cards are 0 liability to the consumer. Even if someone gets a hold of my card, I can call the credit card company and get all fraud charges reversed." That's true only if you or the credit card company notice the fraudulent transactions and act on them within the limited grace period, which I believe is something like 3 months. Many people don't actually keep their receipts or reconcile them with their credit card statement. So unless they get an unexpectedly huge credit card bill, they might not even notice that they were victims of fraud and in that case the "0 liability" credit card policies are worthless, because they get defrauded anyway.
- planteen 9y ago
  Americans are used to entering PINs on debit cards, but not credit. However, in my recent experience in Iceland & Germany, most POS don't ask for a PIN on credit transactions either. The only time I was asked for a PIN on a credit card was at a gas pump.
  - herbst 9y ago
    That however is because of your American card and not the POS systems usually not asking. I have to verify any transaction over 20$ with my Swiss credit card for example. Even on contactless
anarazel 9y ago
You commonly don't have to do that for small transactions in your usual country.

fleg 9y ago

Contactless payments don't need PIN (up to some small but comfortable amount) and go through almost instantly.

wongarsu 9y ago
But Germans don't trust contactless payment because in theory anybody could hold a card reader against your wallet while you're innocently waiting in some line.
- Symbiote 9y ago
  And just what would they do with it? That seems an easy way to get your merchant account cancelled very, very quickly.
  - herbst 9y ago
    But why would they care? Stripe does payments every 3 days or so and you can easily create more accounts. I never ever checked my credit card history, and I assume many people who only use it as secondary payment system don't. It's easy as fuck therefore IMO a valid scenario.
    - Symbiote 9y ago
      Without the CVC code, Stripe isn't going to accept the payment. Even if it did, the bank is likely to block the transaction, or call/text for verification.
      - jhasse 9y ago
        > CVC code I heard that those are very easy to crack. It might have been this article from 2011 where I read about this (German, sorry): http://www.zeit.de/2011/21/Kreditkarten-Sicherheit http://www.zeit.de/2011/21/Kreditkarten-Sicherheit
        herbst 9y ago
        Not to mention half of the database leaks in recent years, especially of porn sites, contained them anyway
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- faceplanted 9y ago
  The defence against that for me is that I have like 6 rfid enabled cards in my wallet, between my Oyster Card, student ID, library card, key card to access my work building, you can't scan any of them without taking it out individually.
  - thesmok 9y ago
    I carry two contactless cards: the metro pass and an office key. They are just taped together (because I want to make sure I always have both) and still reliably work, so I doubt you are protected.
    - faceplanted 9y ago
      I have tried many times to use a single one of them without the other 5 interfering and it has literally never worked.
Sleeep 9y ago
I tried to use android pay for a few months. In theory its great (and it's great when it works!) but like 30% of the time it doesn't really work the first time, you have to play around with it on the card reader. Then the phone vibrates like it worked but nothing happens. You look at the phone and it says "please hold the card to the reader again." and despite Subway accepting android pay (and the cashiers insisting that it works for everyone else) whenever I try to use it there I get a message "please insert card." I was never able to figure out the workflow to get it to work on a vending machine. Also the first time I used it I froze the register. So 70% of the time it saves time and 30% of the time it wastes time. Then I broke my phone and bought a replacement without NFC so I don't have the option anymore anyways. It's a great system, however, I think the kinks need to be worked out a little. (I had a Nexus 5x FYI)
- celticninja 9y ago
  Contactless debit cards are a lot more reliable than phones, mainly because they have one unique job. My card plays up now and again but that is only since it went through the tumble dryer, which distorted the card and seems to have affected the reliability of the NFC chip, in practice this means I sometimes need to tap twice.

codegeek 9y ago

Another difference between American and other systems. Credit cards in US don't have PIN numbers. Only Debit cards have PIN.

StavrosK 9y ago
Yeah, but you have to sign, which is worse.
planteen 9y ago
They do have PINs, just most people don't know what they are. You can use the PIN to withdraw cash from an ATM at a ridiculous interest rate. I recently was using my credit card in Iceland at a gas pump where I was prompted for a PIN.

hobo_mark 9y ago

That's because, as I was shocked to find out, most POS in the US don't ask for a PIN! Convenient indeed, until someone gets ahold of your card.

codegeek 9y ago
Almost all credit cards are 0 liability to the consumer. Even if someone gets a hold of my card, I can call the credit card company and get all fraud charges reversed. That's why I personally always use a credit card EVERYWHERE. I hate cash and I hate to wait in lines. But sure, they have an electronic trail on me which frankly, I don't care too much about. If the Govt wants to get you, they WILL get you.
- pmoriarty 9y ago
  "Almost all credit cards are 0 liability to the consumer. Even if someone gets a hold of my card, I can call the credit card company and get all fraud charges reversed." That's true only if you or the credit card company notice the fraudulent transactions and act on them within the limited grace period, which I believe is something like 3 months. Many people don't actually keep their receipts or reconcile them with their credit card statement. So unless they get an unexpectedly huge credit card bill, they might not even notice that they were victims of fraud and in that case the "0 liability" credit card policies are worthless, because they get defrauded anyway.
planteen 9y ago
Americans are used to entering PINs on debit cards, but not credit. However, in my recent experience in Iceland & Germany, most POS don't ask for a PIN on credit transactions either. The only time I was asked for a PIN on a credit card was at a gas pump.
- herbst 9y ago
  That however is because of your American card and not the POS systems usually not asking. I have to verify any transaction over 20$ with my Swiss credit card for example. Even on contactless

anarazel 9y ago

You commonly don't have to do that for small transactions in your usual country.