Contactless Cards: Good news??

[Deleted User]

planteria wrote: »

you are a committed anti then Bob:A

Absolutely.

I run my finances, in a way that is convenient for me, not what is convenient for organisations/businesses.

I prefer a pre-paid card, in the same way I prefer PAYG phones and intenet.

Stompa

planteria wrote: »

ok, supermarkets? pubs?

Supermarkets yes, but I don't recall seeing one that accepts contactless.

DieselDragon

planteria wrote: »

"Originally Posted by MoneySaverLog View Post
Not if you keep more than one contactless card in your wallet. They cancel each other out."

Being pretty familiar with RFID technology, I can verify this as being Incorrect.
If you presented a stack of three contactless cards to a payment terminal, all three cards would be energised by the terminal and all would transmit their UIDs and other data to the terminal.

Which card the terminal would choose to make the payment on might be a complete lottery (Hopefully, the terminal should recognise the multiple cards and throw an error, or show which one it has selected) but the radio signals transmitted between card and terminal are designed to work in high interference environments, where multiple cards on adjacent terminals may all be communicating at the same time.

Herbalus wrote: »

But yes, I have heard countless stories of people wanting a non-contactless card and the bank refusing. When they're introduced there's no way out.

I've had mixed experiences of this when managing accounts by proxy for family and friends.
Barclays are happy to issue non-contactless cards for those who want them (Simply speak to an advisor in branch and ask for a "No contactless" flag to be put on your account) and they might still be an opt-in for debit card users.
On the other hand, I can say that Metro Bank and a couple of others do not support non-contactless cards at all - They'll only issue contactless, which for security conscious users can be a right pain in the bum.

It IS perfectly possible to disable contactless on a physical level by drilling through the induction loop/antenna on the card (On MasterCard contactless cards this loop is a part of the "chip" on the card so a steady hand is needed. Other cards have it run around the card itself. If you have easy access to an airport X-ray machine, this will help determining this) to open its circuit and permanently disable the radio functionality, but take great care in doing this;

• Some banks may regard your card as "Damaged" if you disable RFID in this way, and either auto-replace the card or disable it.
• In the case of credit cards, the card remains the legal property of the issuer and therefore such modification of the card without written authorisation from the issuer could be regarded as criminal damage of the issuers' property.

Whilst I'm waiting for confirmation/permission from my contactless issuers, I simply do not carry any contactless cards unless I have to. I'm also considering Faraday-screening my wallet as a precaution against radio skimming.

Hope this is useful to some of you. :cool:

[Deleted User]

DieselDragon wrote: »

Some banks may regard your card as "Damaged" if you disable RFID in this way, and either auto-replace the card or disable it.

How will they know it has been "damaged" :huh:

Surely they would need to physically inspect it, to see the "damage"?

DieselDragon

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

How will they know it has been "damaged" :huh:
Surely they would need to physically inspect it, to see the "damage"?

Theoretically, it could be detected automatically the next time the card is presented to a Chip+PIN terminal and the card reports no electrical continuity along the RFID antenna.

The above is entirely possible with technology that is already in place. However I don't know if any banks or card issuers have their cards self-check and report back to them at present.

Maestro.

planteria wrote: »

Chip & PIN was a big change in card payments, of course. and as has been analysed and discussed, the banks moved an element of responsibility on to their customers in the process. banks have had a stronger argument that 'the PIN was used, so it must be your fault' than they had when someone could just use a signature.

now we have contactless, what are the implications? does it shift the other way, perhaps?

"Originally Posted by MoneySaverLog View Post
Not if you keep more than one contactless card in your wallet. They cancel each other out."

thanks to MoneySaverLog for this. is it definately correct that we can protect ourselves from fraud by carrying 2 or more contactless cards together?

and what about disputed transactions on cards now? it must be easier to say "that wasn't me, it must be a mistake or fraud" re. a transaction on a customers statement?

i very rarely spend on a debit card, as i like to generate cashback via credit card purchases, and to use the credit to build a history. but does contactless mean that we are wise to use credit cards in preference to debit cards now, to enable us to dispute fraudulent transactions before the money is taken from our accounts, and for the added protection that credit cards provide?

Any reasonable bank will offer some degree of protection against fraudulent transactions unless you give them reasonable suspicion it was your fault i.e., writing down your pin.

[Deleted User]

DieselDragon wrote: »

Theoretically, it could be detected automatically the next time the card is presented to a Chip+PIN terminal and the card reports no electrical continuity along the RFID antenna.

Assuming you use the card at a C&P terminal, rather than just for online/telephone ordering.

martin2345uk

I just got a Barclays credit card... specifically because I wanted contactless!

The biggest boon for me is that our office canteen and Costa outlet accept it. It's so convenient, though is making me drink more coffee than I should.

Hoping I'm a bit more protected with it being a credit card, but touch wood I've not experienced any issues as yet...

Fingerbobs

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I got one of these, for my one and only Contactless Card.

Certainly worth £3-07 for the peace of mind.

Will also be investing in something like this, before I go on holiday.

Do these actually work? Presumably they are basically just a metal shield covered in plastic/leather, but if the shield is not earthed, I can't see how it would help much.

[Deleted User]

I've seen some online videos, demonstrating them, and they appear to work.

A car isn't earthed, yet it reduces the strength of incoming radio waves.