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Casio's Credit Card Watch

Posted by michael on from the calculator-watches-suddenly-uncool dept.

Takuryu writes "Casio, working with Japanese credit card company, JCB, has developed a combination credit card wristwatch. Workers at the main JCB office wear the RFID tagged watches and use them for security access at the office, as well as for paying for lunch in the cafeteria. I wonder what percentage of employees they have tagged?"

7 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. Bring on the comments by Dizzle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We all know what's going to be said. The watch is easily stolen. Has been for years and years. That's what makes it so appealing to criminals. This isn't going to catch on and for good reason. The security on these devices sounds like nothing at all.

    --
    -Dizzle
    "I most likely AM so interested in myself."
    1. Re:Bring on the comments by lambent · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And what's the security on your regular plastic credit card? That there's a non-verifiable signature on it that most merchants never check? That sometimes, for an online sale, the merchant asks you to turn over the card and input that 3-4 number code on the back?

      If anybody ever gets physical access to your stuff, it's pretty much always game-over. Doesn't matter if it's your wallet, cc-watch, speedpass, or whatever you use.

    2. Re:Bring on the comments by AlphaPB · · Score: 5, Insightful
      The usual procedure after a theft of one's smart card is to cancel that particular card, just as one would cancel a credit card. However, since most smart cards are debit-based systems, there might not be any theft protection limit like that in regular credit cards (where the cardholder is responsible for $50, then the rest is taken care of by the company).

      Since this is a credit card watch, I suppose the credit card company would treat it as regular card. In that case, the only reason that this would be a bad idea is that it most likely won't have the cardholder's signature on it for verification purposes, making it easier for the thief to use the card. Most clerks in America don't bother to check the signature anyway, so I don't see this as much of a problem.

      The watch is easily stolen. Has been for years and years. That's what makes it so appealing to criminals.

      If you're saying that it's just easy to steal a watch that is in plain view, I'd say that it's mostly expected that people carry around wallets and cell phones, so it doesn't make a thief more likely to rob a person wearing a watch. Unless, of course, they target people wearing fancy-looking watches. In that case, the ugly plastic quartz watch in the article will have the unexpected benefit of deterring thieves.

    3. Re:Bring on the comments by zurab · · Score: 4, Insightful
      The range can be "configured" to be quite small - thus you are safe.

      No, you are not. No matter how small the range, you can still get scanned in public places like crowded buses and other transportation as well as theaters, shopping malls, events with crowded people, or even while standing in line. The difference is that a thief does not have to pick your pocket. The thing should definitely have an on/off switch; except that that's not how most, if not all, passive RFID chips work.

      The scary thing is the credit card receipt copy that the merchant keep that actually contain your number and expiry date!

      That is why most relatively new credit card processing machines do not print the credit card number (maybe only last 4 digits) or an expiry date on the receipt. Obviously, manual processing of the credit card is not as "safe."
  2. Security?? by Drooling_Sheep · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are the watches protected from simply scanning everyones as they walk past and collecting thousands of credit card numbers? Or someone could set up a series of stations throughout a mall that charge small innocuous looking charges to cars from "shell" corporations and do like they did in Office Space.

  3. Good Concept but.... by Shivantrill · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is a good concept on the surface. I know I hate having to wear my goofy security badge to gain access to our offices.
    One problem I see is privacy. I have always thought that having to key in and out of work insures security but also tracks your movements. My security badge has to be really close to the reader to register, RFID tags have more range right? So what is to stop an employer from tracking your every move. I know it sounds paranoid but some companies are really strict with breaks and things.
    The other problem I see is wearability and security.
    Security because watches are easily lost, stolen, left behind... Since there is no picture on the watch to verify the person, presumably anyone can use anyone else's.
    Wearability because as a female, I own at least 3 watches to suit my moods and clothing. With everyone having the same watch, we are one step closer to uniformity. This squelches uniqueness and creativity.

    --
    Karma, We don't need no stinkin' karma!
  4. What happened by aussie_a · · Score: 3, Insightful

    to the days when not everyone had a credit card? I abhore the concept of credit cards as they encourage people to buy things they don't have the money for. For this reason I don't like taking out loans, and if I could live life without doing so I would (unfortunately if you want to own your house it is impossible for the average person to achieve this without a loan). There are two ways to spend money: 1. Save it up and then spend it 2. Borrow then spend then repay it I prefer to do the first thing myself. After all, you're eventually going to have to pay for the thing (and possibly with interest) so why not do without for a time until you can afford it. But new technology is only favouring the second payment option with credit cards getting all this new fandangled tech, but bank cards aren't getting anything. Seems strange to me.