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Driver's License to be the Next Debit Card
prostoalex writes "Your US driver's license has a magnetic stripe with unique ID in it, and your debit card carries a magnetic stripe with account information on it, so why not link the two together and allow people to use their driver's licenses as debit cards? That's precisely what a young company National Payment Card is doing in select locations, according to Business Week: 'Gas-station owners are pleased with the program too. Because NPC processes the payment as an e-check with the Automated Clearing House (ACH), a network most commonly used for direct deposits, participating retailers bypass credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard.'"
Yeah, government and business working in collusion, more so than usual.
Just what I always wanted.
Oh, and now someone can make counterfeit licenses that double as fake debit cards.
Nah, no problems here.
A blog about stuff.
I'm sorry, you're going to have to take your place in line behind all the people who think RealID is a bad idea. This just isn't quite as bad, as yet. These ideas are all very much along the same lines. They are all about consolidation of your resources, identification, and risks, and that is a bad idea in general for your safety, your privacy and your liberties.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
What's the difference? For most people that'd mean stealing your wallet - they'll get both pieces of information anyway.
I want a card with my driver's license, my grocery store card, my debit card, my work ID, my AAA card, and every other damn thing cluttering my account all on one card. And I want an electronic device, too, that has my cell phone, my garage door opener, my car remote, my mp3 player, and any other little bullshit electronic device on it.
One early morning, back in the early days of debit cards, I inserted what I thought was my debit card into the ATM. It asked for, and accepted my PIN, gave me account options, then, after a short delay, said that there was no such account and returned my card to me. As I pulled the card out, I realized that I had inserted my Driver's License into the machine, instead of the debit card. I had always thought that the two should work together, as it appears that such interaction had been pre-built into the ATM software, even back then.
Michigan does not use privately assigned numbers for our drivers license numbers. Our drivers license numbers are calculated using a method that's not secret or random or anything.
_ mi
We use a system that combines soundex codes with date of birth. You can find anyones michigan driver's license number if you know:
First name, Middle Name, Last name, Month of Birth, year of birth.
If you're from michigan, get out your driver's license and see for yourself.
http://www.highprogrammer.com/cgi-bin/uniqueid/dl
There are only a few times where it might be a few numbers off. If you happen to share a first name middle name last name month of birth and year of birth, then the last 3 numbers will be off by 1. Besides that, this works really well.
This is great for catching fake ID's. None of the fake ID's bother to calculate the right number. Most bouncers who police doors are familiar enough with the codes to flag fakes quite easily.
Debit cards suck. If there's a fraudulent or otherwise disputed transaction, the other party has your money. Getting it back is a major pain in the ass. My friends have had issues where it's taken them months to get something resolved and, in the mean time (it bears repeating), they have your money. Credit cards companies are generally much easier to deal with - the money is still in your pocket, so the burden is on the merchant to prove the transaction is valid. If (like me) you want to avoid credit card debt, use American Express charge cards (green, gold, platinum, or black). These basically work kind of like a net-30 account for your purchases. AmEx has always been great to me when there's a problem with a charge.
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I would much rather have my cell phone be my:
RFID Entry key (With an actual battery it can be truly secure)
Debit/Credit Card (Same deal, different implementation)
Driver's Liscence/ID
Etc. Etc. Etc...
I should have to type in a PIN or something to spend money. You can already deactivate phone immediately if they are lost or stolen, so that's not really an issue. I'm sure this is the way things are headed.
--The universe will not be altered by forum threads, even those which are very wry. --Tycho Brahe (Penny Arcade)