Card payment taken without PIN - Safe? (CNP at point of sale)

abssorb

I went to an event yesterday and opted to pay by card, so we were asked to go to another desk where a girl with a laptop took the payment.

I was chatting with friends and not paying full attention - I could hear typing in the background, which I assumed was to do with tickets rather than payment. But after a few seconds she handed my card back and said "all done".

No chip / contactless and no PIN asked for, so I presume they were using cardholder not present to take the payments, which I thought was a bit dodgy.

This was a small event, run by a small events production company. I don't think it's a huge personal risk. The GDPR rules have probably been smashed but few people take that seriously yet.

From a card payments perspective, how bad is it that the organiser is taking payments this way?

kwame41

Giving your card to someone with a laptop and not paying attention is not a good move.

Have you checked your account since?

The 'organiser' should not be doing that.

Owain_Moneysaver

If it's a secure approved "virtual terminal" then it's perfectly secure from a GDPR and card processing perspective. They'll use the 3-digit CVV on the back of the card for verification (they might also ask for address and use that). Just the same as when you buy something online.

There is a greater risk to them because they're not using chip+pin but for low-volume low-value low-risk transactions that will be acceptable and is the trade-off for not paying fees for a chip+pin terminal.

eco_warrior

It’s not that common but I wouldn’t be concerned about it to be honest.