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So with a contactless card a thief simply has to have the card - there's no chance a teller will check for matching signatures (not that most tellers do this in

So with a contactless card a thief simply has to have the card - there's no chance a teller will check for matching signatures (not that most tellers do this in the US, though I have noticed in Germany tellers are more likely to). Who wanted these?

Piskvorrr 13y ago
Everybody in the foodchain - well, except for the customers, but who cares about the customers, right?
- lmm 13y ago
  Many customers wanted them - they make payment a lot more convenient.
  - jabbernotty 13y ago
    Too convenient, certainly! Payments even occur when the customer doesn't want them to.
  - ronaldx 13y ago
    In current implementation, no. The card readers rarely function adequately if at all. On occasions when they do work, the screen is broken meaning the customer can't identify whether payment has been requested, the amount requested, whether payment has been made, how much you are being charged, or even whether you are paying the bill of the correct till. The cards interfere with each other and in particular with Oyster transport card in London - people use their Oyster card frequently and therefore have that in primary location: still have to pull out whichever other card they want to pay with. In practice, people don't often use contactless cards and most customers I've observed attempting to use them express fear and wish to revert to traditional method. The receipt is still the final part of the transaction, which customers are more inclined to wait for because they have no other way of confirming what just happened.
    - hafabnew 13y ago
      This is almost entirely FUD, and 'the card readers rarely function adequately if at all' is just plain untrue. What makes you say the readers don't work? Personal experience? I've seen a broken screen on a contactless reader once, however I've also seen lots of broken Chip and Pin readers -- doesn't make the system faulty. All contactless systems I've seen are either built-in to the same unit as the Chip and Pin device (which has a display) -- or a separate reader, which also has a display. Both clearly state when payment has been requested, and how much you are being charged. The problem of '[..] or even whether you are paying the bill of the correct till.' is rarely ever a problem at all. With the vast, vast, vast majority of readers, it's instantly obvious which reader you should use (because it's right in front of you!). Besides, if it's not immediately 100% obvious which reader you should use, the cashier will point it out to you, but again, this 'problem' is not a regression on chip and pin, which suffers from this. Contactless payment is a hugely popular choice of payment in central London. Take a look at a Pret or Eat (or indeed, M&S) at lunchtime. Consumers aren't in the least bit scared about contactless, nor do they 'express fear'. Everyone I've spoken to about contactless has absolutely loved it. It's unbelievably convenient for consumers and a huge win for businesses too. Agree with the interference though, that is annoying. That said, anyone with any sense doesn't keep their Oyster in their wallet :). Having to hold your wallet out in your hand and place it on the sensor is just asking for someone to grab your wallet (keep oyster in separate pocket during journey, replace during wallet upon arrival at destination).
      - ronaldx 13y ago
        Yes, the FUD is gathered from personal experience of several non-City branches of Pret and Caffe Nero, in particular.
    - gambiting 13y ago
      That's BS. I use my contactless cards wherever I can. The only people that ever had a problem with it are some store managers, who didn't even know that they had a contactless terminal and were completely baffled with what I just did. Also, UK does not have enough of them, I wish they had contactless terminals in every shop, like they do in my own country. And you are completely wrong to say that the customers don't know if the transaction was approved or not - the terminal definitely shows "Transaction Approved" when using a contacless card.
dalore 13y ago
It will only work for small amounts, and it will randomly asking for a PIN sometimes so if a thief gets the card then the damage is limited.

Piskvorrr 13y ago

Everybody in the foodchain - well, except for the customers, but who cares about the customers, right?

lmm 13y ago
Many customers wanted them - they make payment a lot more convenient.
- jabbernotty 13y ago
  Too convenient, certainly! Payments even occur when the customer doesn't want them to.
- ronaldx 13y ago
  In current implementation, no. The card readers rarely function adequately if at all. On occasions when they do work, the screen is broken meaning the customer can't identify whether payment has been requested, the amount requested, whether payment has been made, how much you are being charged, or even whether you are paying the bill of the correct till. The cards interfere with each other and in particular with Oyster transport card in London - people use their Oyster card frequently and therefore have that in primary location: still have to pull out whichever other card they want to pay with. In practice, people don't often use contactless cards and most customers I've observed attempting to use them express fear and wish to revert to traditional method. The receipt is still the final part of the transaction, which customers are more inclined to wait for because they have no other way of confirming what just happened.
  - hafabnew 13y ago
    This is almost entirely FUD, and 'the card readers rarely function adequately if at all' is just plain untrue. What makes you say the readers don't work? Personal experience? I've seen a broken screen on a contactless reader once, however I've also seen lots of broken Chip and Pin readers -- doesn't make the system faulty. All contactless systems I've seen are either built-in to the same unit as the Chip and Pin device (which has a display) -- or a separate reader, which also has a display. Both clearly state when payment has been requested, and how much you are being charged. The problem of '[..] or even whether you are paying the bill of the correct till.' is rarely ever a problem at all. With the vast, vast, vast majority of readers, it's instantly obvious which reader you should use (because it's right in front of you!). Besides, if it's not immediately 100% obvious which reader you should use, the cashier will point it out to you, but again, this 'problem' is not a regression on chip and pin, which suffers from this. Contactless payment is a hugely popular choice of payment in central London. Take a look at a Pret or Eat (or indeed, M&S) at lunchtime. Consumers aren't in the least bit scared about contactless, nor do they 'express fear'. Everyone I've spoken to about contactless has absolutely loved it. It's unbelievably convenient for consumers and a huge win for businesses too. Agree with the interference though, that is annoying. That said, anyone with any sense doesn't keep their Oyster in their wallet :). Having to hold your wallet out in your hand and place it on the sensor is just asking for someone to grab your wallet (keep oyster in separate pocket during journey, replace during wallet upon arrival at destination).
    - ronaldx 13y ago
      Yes, the FUD is gathered from personal experience of several non-City branches of Pret and Caffe Nero, in particular.
  - gambiting 13y ago
    That's BS. I use my contactless cards wherever I can. The only people that ever had a problem with it are some store managers, who didn't even know that they had a contactless terminal and were completely baffled with what I just did. Also, UK does not have enough of them, I wish they had contactless terminals in every shop, like they do in my own country. And you are completely wrong to say that the customers don't know if the transaction was approved or not - the terminal definitely shows "Transaction Approved" when using a contacless card.

dalore 13y ago

It will only work for small amounts, and it will randomly asking for a PIN sometimes so if a thief gets the card then the damage is limited.