First Direct and Contactless

frascati

I'm a great believer in choice in the contactless v non-contactless card debate. There are pros and cons to both. So I thought I would let people know that both type of cards are available to First Direct customers.
Today I received a replacement debit card which was contactless. I had been told in the past that I would just have to request a non-contactless card. On phoning I was categorically told that this was no longer an option but that my views would be passed on. On looking at a debate on The Which site it became apparent that non-contactless was an option and that one just had to persevere ( isn't the internet wonderful? ). I phoned First Direct back and this time was told that it was an option and that my request should have been transferred to a supervisor. The supervisor after telling me the benefits did acquiesce to me having a non-contactless card and dealt with it in First Direct's usual pleasant and efficient manner.
What a pity that so much pressure is obviously put on their staff to try and force us down the contactless route that the first advisor felt he had to tell untruths.

matty_544

frascati wrote: »

I'm a great believer in choice in the contactless v non-contactless card debate. There are pros and cons to both. So I thought I would let people know that both type of cards are available to First Direct customers.
Today I received a replacement debit card which was contactless. I had been told in the past that I would just have to request a non-contactless card. On phoning I was categorically told that this was no longer an option but that my views would be passed on. On looking at a debate on The Which site it became apparent that non-contactless was an option and that one just had to persevere ( isn't the internet wonderful? ). I phoned First Direct back and this time was told that it was an option and that my request should have been transferred to a supervisor. The supervisor after telling me the benefits did acquiesce to me having a non-contactless card and dealt with it in First Direct's usual pleasant and efficient manner.
What a pity that so much pressure is obviously put on their staff to try and force us down the contactless route that the first advisor felt he had to tell untruths.

The previous member of staff may not have known due to lack of training. the amount of times ive had contradicting info from customer advisers from the same bank is quite frequent. so much easier to say we no longer provide non contactless cards than to ask a superior about how to get one

reclusive46

It probably won't matter soon anyway, Visa, American Express and MasterCard made contactless card issuance mandatory (all cards issued on their network apart from some prepaid cards) in some Asia pacific countries (Australia, New Zealand, Singapore etc.) when contactless card usage reached about the same amount as contactless is reaching in the UK now. They also made it mandatory for all merchants to have at least one contactless terminal. By the time you get your next card you may find First Direct has no choice.

dr_adidas01

You could simply not use the contactless feature of the card even if you are issued one with the feature.

No one is forcing you to use it!!

Herbalus

dr_adidas01 wrote: »

You could simply not use the contactless feature of the card even if you are issued one with the feature.

No one is forcing you to use it!!

The issue many have against contactless is the security, fearing that somebody else could use it or they'd use it by mistake/pay with two cards.

masonic

Shame they don't make these cards with an on/off switch of some sort, then everyone could be happy.

SuperHan

Just to throw in to the debate, does anybody have first hand experience with contactless fraud?

I have no objection to my contactless cards, and have gone out of my way to request them. I use the feature daily, and usually more than once and have done for over two years now, without issue. I have read about the 'bad' things, but I haven't heard anyone tell me that they themselves have been subject to fraud.

masonic

SuperHan wrote: »

I have read about the 'bad' things, but I haven't heard anyone tell me that they themselves have been subject to fraud.

Personally, I've not heard of anyone who has had any issues. In any case, given the low value of the transactions, it seems extremely unlikely banks would be unwilling to refund any fraudulent/duplicate transactions, or bank charges resulting from paying on the wrong card. The cost of processing a formal complaint through to the Financial Ombudsman would likely be a lot higher.

penrhyn

You can make yourself a tin foil pouch for your contactless card to screen it.
You can also make a matching helmet to stop the CIA satellites monitoring your brainwaves.:rotfl:

Herbalus

SuperHan wrote: »

Just to throw in to the debate, does anybody have first hand experience with contactless fraud?

This article from the BBC last October said contactless fraud figure totalled £13,700 for the preceding year.

Visa said £460million was spent on contactless in roughly the same timeframe, which means fraud accounted for 0.00003%.

SuperHan

Herbalus wrote: »

This article from the BBC last October said contactless fraud figure totalled £13,700 for the preceding year.

Compared to total Visa fraud of what seems to be about £500m, surely the argument would be to not have cards at all, as that is where the risk is as opposed to around contactless...