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New Credit Card Includes Display and Keypad
First time accepted submitter pev writes "A new credit card released in Singapore includes a screen and keyboard in order to generate one-time passwords for your online banking. From the article: 'The card has touch-sensitive buttons and the ability to create a "one-time password" - doing away with the need for a separate device sometimes needed to log in to online banking. Future versions of the card could display added information such as the remaining balance.' Lets hope they've put more thought into the implementation than with chip and pin."
Don't one-time-pasword exists just in case you loose your card???
With these cards, it's like writing your PIN in the back of the card itself...
No personal checks in Sweden, so all person-to-person transfers are done in cash. However, banks won't take huge piles of money ... say anything over €500 ... so all of the those transfers are done electronically. When I sold my used bike, we met and did the transfer electronically at a cafe via mobile phones. The biggest difference was that you had to the put the credit card into a device that looks like a calculator and enter a number from the banking website into the card-inserted device. The number returned is that entered into the web to authenticate the transfer. This just does it all on one credit card, which is GREAT.
It's been a good 20 years since I've used a device like that for authentication. Maybe 19. Used it to log into telco switches. The token generator was a little device about the size of a small calculator, securely attached to a desk next to a laminated sheet of paper (taped to the desk) with step by step authentication instructions including username/password. The desk was in a secluded corner right next to an unlocked door that opened onto the building's loading dock. :facepalms:
Looks like this for those interested ...
"No personal checks in Sweden, so all person-to-person transfers are done in cash"
Did they get rid of cheques or did they never have them? I always thought sweden was an advanced country , but it doesn't sound like it. Personal cheques are damn useful in situations where electronic banking can be a PITA and cash isn't feasible - eg paying a builder.
Let's get it right... no cell phones have a physical keyboard anymore, yet it's credit cards that get (limited) keyboards and display? Something is amiss...
The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
This is against the banks interest. In Australia, the banks actually MAKE money out of fraud by overcharging and charge-backs to the merchant.
Only because the law says owner up to the first $50, the bank wears the cost for any fraud. So it is a no brainer to send a 50 cent mag stripe card, than an expensive unit that may actually harm their business model. Camera's and SMS messaging do the job nicely.
Years ago, patents for laser stripe cards - replace mag strip with dvd like material, or high resolution mag stripe, were rejected - paying 5 cents per card more
was just unacceptable. OK, say customer looses the card. Who pays the cost of the replacement? Same deal for 'smartcards' - the bank does not want to replace
expensive to produce hard to crack smartcards.
But this makes sense in Singapore .
Can someone please explain why, when I submitted this story yesterday, it was flagged as spam?
http://slashdot.org/submission/2344885/credit-card-has-display-acts-as-security-token
They are advanced. Everything is electronic. All train tickets, most plane tickets, and most subway tickets can just be done with the mobile phone (no paper needed).
They're REALLY pushing for a cashless society and making significant progress. Everyone is paid on the same day (25th of the month) after all.
To be honest, it's much more of a hassle in Germany and a total nightmare in the US, compared to the simplicity in Stockholm. Once you get up and running, it's super easy.
Also, in Stockholm, I never saw a builder without a mobile phone? I never saw anyone with a mobile phone. And, don't say that the "government just wants it piece of the cake by not allowing cash." I like it because it really keeps things on the "up-and-up" as all personal tax records are publicly available.
You give him/her 400SEK in cash (€40) or he gives you an invoice with his/her banking info and you just transfer it. He'll just email/SMS you the invoice. Pretty simple. We ran into significant problems trying to deposit 25000SEK (€2500) in cash into an account after selling a few items. The police became involved because they thought it might be part of a money laundering scheme (the money can't be tracked once it's in the open.)
...all the rage it was. I could do maths and stuff on it and everything. Fitted in my wallet and was credit card sized and 1mm thick...
So why the big fanfare about sticking electronics in a card again, 30 years later?
"Hmm, why would electronic banking be a PITA when paying for a builder?"
Hmm , let me think. Because he doesn't have a computer or card reader on site and he doesn't do electronic banking anyway.
"I use online banking for person-to-person transfers (even the very small amounts) "
Good for you. But not everyone loves technology so much that they find farting about with electronic payment simpler than spending 30 seconds writing a cheque.
Everyone in Sweden and all of Northern Europe does it this way. Germany is totally different and requires cash much more often, even moreso that the US. After living in Sweden, Germany and the US ... I can wholeheartedly say that Swedish system is the easiest, quickest and best. With a mobile phone and the bank's App, a transfer takes less than 1 minute and is complete ... try doing that with a check/cheque ... talk about archaic ... it's worse than cash.
Yes, we have the same thing here in the UK.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
The card displayed in TFA has a 'chip', and is presumably comptable with chip and pin systems.
As far as I understand it, this is simply trying to integrate an authentication device into the card itself, not replace the current card system.
"he gives you an invoice with his/her banking info and you just transfer it. He'll just email/SMS you the invoice. Pretty simple. "
Considerably less simple than just handing him a cheque on the day he finishes.
Yes, we have the same thing here in the UK.
it's called CAP, Chip Authentication Programme. I was the designer of the system that used by a big UK bank. It requires a self powered sleeve reader (that looks alike a calulator) and it's an open standard so that all EMV cards can use any branded reader device (they don't tell you that). Some of the readers have a "MENU" button and you can read off the transaction counter etc on your card. A handy way to tell if someone close has been using the card while you're not looking. if you do muck around with your card, be careful. I changed my PIN to be 6 digits on some test gear and ended up having to get a new bank card because the UK ATM network is hard coded to 4 digits. EMV cards support 6 digits.
>Did they get rid of cheques or did they never have them?
In the UK they want to get rid of them and they were due to be phased out but got a last minute reprieve. They're old tech but no solution for sending gifts if you're a granny etc have been found yet.
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
"Everyone in Sweden and all of Northern Europe does it this way"
If by northern europe you don't include the UK, ireland or france then sure. If you mean just scandinavia then maybe , but scandinavia != the world and a lot of people in the rest of the world (myself included) find cheques quick and simple. I've done electronic payments for many things including my house and car and they are somewhat more hassle than just writing a cheque and handing it over.
"With a mobile phone and the bank's App, a transfer takes less than 1 minute and is complete ... try doing that with a check/cheque"
I can write a cheque in seconds. How long it takes for the workman to cash it is not my concern. And why the hell should I have to own a fucking smartphone to be able to pay someone??
"it's worse than cash"
Cash is anonymous. Rather useful if you want to avoid tax. And yes I have used it for that and no I don't give a damn if you disapprove so save your breath.
"I changed my PIN to be 6 digits on some test gear and ended up having to get a new bank card because the UK ATM network is hard coded to 4 digits."
Why couldn't you use the test gear to change it back to 4 digits , or once its set to 6 digits is it fixed at that and can't be reverted?
You could hand him cash - they still have that, they just don't have that out-dated form of transferring money. I can't see the benefit of cheques.
* You still need a bank account, so they're still traceable, ie. You can't use them for hiding funds, unless you take them to some dodgy cheque cashing place, which will take a percentage. I suppose you bank off-shore, but the issuer will still be able to determine where the money has gone.
* They take longer to clear, as the bank has to verify the issuer that there are cleared funds. The money also tends to "disappear" for a few days, so the bank doesn't have to pay interest on the money.
I haven't had to write a cheque for years, not even when I bought my flat, and I can't wait for the day that they're no longer accepted in the UK - it's a pain in the arse for us to have to go the bank to lodge cheques from our customers (the motor trade are slow to catch up). I have even paid my car cleaning guy (£10) via bank transfer.
Why are cheques so much more secure? They can still bounce, or I could call up the bank and ask them to cancel my chequebook, and still write them out. Sure, it's fraudulent, but if I'm willing not to pay somebody, the I probably don't care about upsetting some lawn care guy.
... or an insignificant matter of money (although don't necessarily have that money cause you didn't stop at the bank) how do you pay some one?
Easy, I log onto internet banking and queue the transfer for tomorrow. If you're relying on the cheque clearing delay as a free overdraft, I think you've got bigger worries.
Thanks to XKCD, this appears to have awesome security features.
and all of that technology would have been useless in the past week here in the northeast. No electric = nightmare for cashless society. Even the places with electric were having trouble processing credit cards.
Cash is anonymous. Rather useful if you want to avoid tax. And yes I have used it for that and no I don't give a damn if you disapprove so save your breath.
Ah, we've now got to the nub of it. I was wondering who would seriously trust a piece of handwritten paper that hopefully will be worth the money. As far as I can see, the people that want to keep cheques going are exactly the one you should never trust a cheque from.
Seeing as you seem to mention builders and workmen a lot, it would appear that you work in the building trade - there's a surprise - always looking for a loophole and a shortcut.
Show me how durable that thing is by putting it in a overstuffed wallet that is then used by a construction worker who bends over and plops down 90 times a day.
I remember the SecurID credit cards. I had to replace them 3 times a year from cracked LCD screens or cracked boards.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Basically we have "news" of a product by SmartDisplayer, that they have been producing for the last 7 years, already implemented by some 30 banks, used by Visa in some markets, which I have been using with the in-house TOATH authentication systems for the last four years. So where's the news? Slow news day?
Wow, a real +5 insightful response there mate. Got no answers then?
And no, I'm not whoever you seem to think I am.
Why choose LCD over e-ink?
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
It's really not that hard to log in and transfer the money. And you'll never run out of transfers, they can't be lost and you don't force the person receiving the transfer to have to go to the bank or scan in a check to get their money. It's not as hard as you're making it out to be and there are benefits.
spending 30 seconds writing a cheque.
Plus 5 minutes to deposit said cheque, then a few days waiting for said cheque to clear before your balance reflects reality again.
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
As a serious question, what if someone doesn't have a phone?
People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people
Another serious question :)
;-)
Here in the US, Credit Card payments siphon off a percentage to the CC company. Is that different in Sweden and other 'advanced' places?
People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people
Paper versions still exist, I'd assume.
I thought it was pretty cool, for a gadget, I'm curious to see just how useful it really is. http://slashdot.org/submission/2345093/mastercards-get-a-facelift
can be found here http://www.rpn-calc.ch/
Fully functional HP-15C clone - updatable firmware!
Can't speak for Sweden, but honestly I'm surprised there are still places that have any measurable use of paper cheques still. I'm in my 30s and have never had a cheque account. Never written a cheque. Never received one. Hell, never even seen one other than vague recollections of my parents using them in the 80s when I was a kid.
I'm in Australia and while they technically haven't abolished cheques here, virtually no one uses them. The need for them vanished due to the invention (and more importantly standardisation, so that they are ubiquitous) of electronic methods:
- Paying paper bills: BPay - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BPAY ... seriously never found one that doesn't
- Paying in-person for services (i.e. builders, plumbers): they all have mobile EFT terminals
- Paying your friend back the money you owe him/sending your relatives some money etc: log onto bank's website, type their account and the amount, hit enter. Done instantly.
Electronic methods are no more PITA than scrambling for a pen and writing out a cheque ... they take roughly the same amount of time. And they are processed straight away so your balance isn't in limbo until the cheque clears etc. While I agree that there are conceivable situations where a cheque would be useful, I'm yet to actually come across any of these situations in real life, so I'm fine with the way things are.
But in countries with ubiquitous electronic banking, he WOULD have a computer or card reader. It'd be a fundamental tool of the job, without which he simply couldn't run his business. They're not exactly expensive these days, especially the ones that just attach to an existing mobile phone. Your builder probably spent more on his last new hammer.
You could hand him cash - they still have that, they just don't have that out-dated form of transferring money. I can't see the benefit of cheques.
Checks make receipts unnecessary. With cash he'll have to write a reciept. The check will be proof of payment to a judge, a receipt maybe or maybe not.
Free Martian Whores!
They can still bounce, or I could call up the bank and ask them to cancel my chequebook, and still write them out. Sure, it's fraudulent
And you will go to jail for it, guranteed (at least in my state).
Free Martian Whores!
I'm not too worried about online. It seems to me that this technology would be far more useful for securing face-to-face transactions. Every time you hand your card over to a cashier or a waiter, you give them nearly unrestricted access to your account. If you just gave them a one-time password, that would be a huge increase in security.
What I want to know is how do I leave the lawn care guy $40 USD in an envelope.
1. Get $40USD
2. Get envelope
3. Put cash in envelope
4. Leave for lawn care guy
It's really not all that difficult.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
It's a shame the Swedish government mandated that all retailers that accept payments must have a 'black box' that tracks payments for the government. I develop software for (among others) the Swedish market. In Soviet Sweden my life is a pain in the arse!
This comment was 100% insightful. Now it's 100% offtopic. Except, it's clearly 100% on topic.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I'm sorry, did you just say the police got involved because you had to deposit a measly couple thou in cash?? That one thing pretty much negates any other advantage the Swedish system may have. No offense, but that's just insane.
The obvious answer is that the system only accepts 4-digit PINs, so having a 6-digit PIN means you can never enter it as the system only allows 4 digits, which never validate against 6 digit PINs.
Well, I'm guessing that the cellular infrastructure is such that electronic banking is possible anywhere. Of course, the main reason the builders love cheques is because it can be a "cash" transaction and thus kept off the books. In Sweden, I guess it's not possible since the transaction will be recorded somewhere and somehow, while cheques can be cashed pretty anonymously and kept off tax records.
I'm guessing the real advance is getting people to use electronic transfers (that are traceable) so that the underground economy is extremely unusual, so builders just get transferred and bill electronically rather than try to do it under the table.
(Case in point - during the darker parts of the recession, our government (Canada) had a home reno tax credit. This resulted in a shrinking of the underground economy because of the required paperwork - homeowners weren't willing to give up the tax credit, so builders etc. had to declare the income as the government would match those tax credits with business income).
MasterCard were demo'ing this in the late 1980s under the name "Super Smart Card". The only difference was that back then the cards were gold-coloured, not silver as in the BBC photo. Since then this has been retried a number of times by different manufacturers, failing each time. So I wouldn't hold out much hope for this one succeeding. OTOH wait a few years and there'll be another press release from another vendor about it.
Handing him the cheque isn't the completion of the transaction though. He then has to appear at the bank in person to deposit it and then there's a few days for it to clear while if you did it electronically, the transaction will actually be complete.
in the UK, the CAP readers are totally standalone and powered by batteries - i.e. need no host computer. Given that i use Linux myself, there was no way I was building in OS restrictions.