The new chips in credit cards are being used to promote the use of cell phone payment ( conspiracy )

submitted by United_States_Gov

This is just a thought I had today at quick-trip. So you know those new RFID chips that every card is required to have now? Well if you have ever had to use one like I have you know it's a massive hassle. You stick the card into a slot at the bottom of the card reader, and it takes considerably more time to process payment than it used to from just swiping.

Well I think this is intentional in order to get people to start using mobile payment systems more. Now it's up to y'all to figure out why they want us to use mobile pay over card because I don't see any real downsides.

Some reasons why I think this is being done purposefully.

1. The chip slot is in a difficult place to see and access. This makes putting the card in the slot difficult.

2. The process takes sometimes 5x longer to complete even after the card has been inserted. Most of the time the customer first swipes, then is denied until then put the card in the slot.

3. The RFID tag doesn't really add much in the way of security to your card. In fact I argue it makes the card less secure and it can be more easily accessed by equipment.

EDIT: 4. Also, mobile pay is by far the fastest form of payment, however people don't use it because of social stigma.

Thanks for any input guys.

nativevlan

I just started using cash again for mostly everything. My regular bank card doesn't have a chip in it though, so it's still usable.

GreatWhiteNorth

Chip cards have been used in Canada and Europe for years, long before smartphones and mobile payments were a thing. Yes, just having a RFID chip doesn't make it more secure, that's why everywhere else uses a Chip+Pin combo for security. But that would be to much work for you lazy Americans.

84626433832795028841

Why the fuck are you using cards in retail in the first place? If you are paranoid about RFID and phones why are you enabling their use instead of paying cash?

Mr_Wolf

Cash is only as fast as the cashier is capable of counting change. But still faster than the chip reader.

Change can just get tossed into a jar and cashed in once a year or so, banks sort it for free. it also doesn't hurt to have a couple dollars worth in the car if you travel a lot.

Pawn

they aren't rfid. Smart card chips are not rfid, so you can be safe. I however don't like them, they are annoying. Swype? Nope. Insert. Sign. Wait. Wait. Pull out.

while they may look like gsm sim cards, they are not. The only reason I dont use mobile pay is because I don't want my phone linked to my money, social stigma my ass. Most of the time the pay centers for mobile pay aren't even there.

Mr_Wolf

Insert card

Nope you need to swipe

So swipe card

Nope you need to insert

Sometimes it goes through that cycle again

Not every store utilizes the same procedure to using them.

My phone stays in my car I don't like carrying it around.

I'll just end up using cash more.