Bank turns London man into RFID-enabled guinea pig The Halifax bank is enrolling unsuspecting customers in trials of a new generation of RFID-enabled bank cards, and trying to keep them in the program even if they have mis-givings about the wave and pay technology. PayWave allows punters to debit their account without having to enter a PIN or sign for goods valued at less than …
You're suggesting that scum will mug you for your card, so they can get a tenner off of it for White Lightning or something?
Personally I carry around far more actual cash than that, especially on a night out, and I suspect many many people do - by your logic, why don't I get mugged every time I'm out? Let's face it, cash must be more valuable to scum - there's no easy method to trace it after all, and it can be used anywhere.
"Bank staff, having verified Pete's identity, were not immediately able to work out why the card had been retained.."
As an ex-employee of Halifax, the staff would have been able to see from their records the old card's cancellation date and that it had been replaced. Shows the 'bank' that now likes to employ dumb staff, but for customers of the Halifax, don't worry, they've all been on training courses and are experts!
As for the frustration of your reader getting a normal card, it's on par with my attempt to try and get my Internet banking access closed down which they said could not be done as "... I may want to use it in the future." This rule was quickly reversed when I breached their Ts & Cs by publishing my login details online.
The card stuff here is only a precursor to an NFC application loaded onto your SIM card. Actually there it makes more sense because you can popup a java app to let you confirm the payment. You also have many other control possibilities, along with a current log of your transactions. And real tap and buy off posters will only happen when you have this facilty. It doesn't stop it being inherently insecure, especially if stolen, but it gives you better control of it whilst it's in you possession.
> 1.) The merchant gets their money after a period - not instantaneously - holding a gun to their head won't get you any cash from the proposed fraud at a tube station - it'll just be a good-old plain armed robbery of cash on the premises. The period is there for stopping fraud/chargebacks, and for 'clearing' purposes.
It's still worth bopping someone one the head & using the card. The merchant might to get the cash, but the thief has the goods.
>You're suggesting that scum will mug you for your card, so they can get a tenner off of it for White Lightning or something?
Yes. I've known people mugged for a fiver - and 3 trips to different offies & it adds up to a lot of White Lightning
The problem with things like the Oyster card is that to obtain the discount you can't top it up anonymously, you must submit your bank details. The discount is because "cashless payments are more efficient - odd you don't get a discount on credit card or debit card payments. Also to get the discount you must swipe at both ends of your journey, not just on boarding.
So, it's sod all about efficiency - it's about tracking where you gen on and off the transport system.
And cashless payments are a wet dream for a fascist government such as in power in Britain. I'm not surprised to find out they are already in use in Singapore for the same reasons - a government obsessed with control over its citizens.
So, contactless paying
scam artists swiping a tenner everytime your trousers goes past a waist height scanner.
This is not permission to board a tube train (Oyster), this is raw cash; of course its different -what was the fools name who said that? take him to the stocks now.
Records of exactly when and where you have been - its a doddle to register the card ID's location as you walk past, not even bothering to tell the punters or go to the hassle of asking them................
....................................................hhhmmmmmm is big brother's first name Halifax?
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