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Visa To Push Swipeless Credit Cards

Posted by Zonk on from the tossing-your-money-into-the-aether dept.

BobPaul wrote in to mention an initiative by Visa to allow for swipeless credit card transactions. From the article: "...consumers need only wave credit and debit cards within a few inches of a reader to complete a purchase. And for purchases of less than $25, no signature is required...Each transmission between card and reader has a unique code that cannot be reused even if it is intercepted". Update: 02/25 16:06 GMT by Z : References to RFID technology removed.

3 of 452 comments (clear)

  1. Security? by Cyberax · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And now a thief doesn't have to guess PINs. It will be enough just to steal a card!

  2. Another Fine example of Slashdot "journalism" by sQuEeDeN · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seriously. IT DOES NOT MENTION RFID ANYWHERE IN THE ARTICLE. Just so y'all realize. Why is slashdot so anti-RFID, anyways? Are you guys anti-barcode? It's just a longer range barcode. And the chipmaker can set the length. It's just a way to get small amounts of information in to a computer. Relax.

    And, I'm inclined to listen to visa a little bit when they say their card is secure. I mean, they are not exactly a company that can win by skimping on security. If the system is hacked, they pay, not you.

    --

    Recursive (adj.): see 'Recursive'
  3. Re:Show me the security by Thaelon · · Score: 5, Insightful
    While this may seem very scary at first it's complete FUD.

    In order to process claims from a reader like this you're going to need a merchant account.

    So let's say you try it, I'll outline the events for you in chronological order:
    1. You obtain a merchant account to be able to collect funds from your portable reader.
    2. You figure out a way to generate transaction IDs without contacting Visa.
    3. You go out and collect ~$24 from fifty people in a crowd, wohoo $1,200!
    4. Let's say you play it smart and only claim those trasnaction monies and random increments over a day or so.
    5. 50 people protest to visa that they didn't authorize your charges.
    6. Visa does about 30 seconds worth of research and realizes that all 50 of these claims lead directly to you via your merchant account.
    7. Visa shuts you down like a bitch and presses charges.
    8. You go to jail since you have no case whatsoever.
    9. Your ass now belongs to Bubba.

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    Question everything