Chip and Pin or Contactless

Homeboy_1

Hi, I have always used chip and pin for all my card transactions, as I have always believed that chip and pin was safer than contactless. I have never had any problems doing this even though I have contactless on my cards. I do know that there is a contactless limit of £30 per transaction. Now my daughter tells me that It is safer to use contactless, rather than chip and pin. Is she really right, and I have been using it wrong? any advice appreciated

Eco_Miser

A chip & pin card without contactless capability may be considered safer than one with it, since if the card is stolen, the thieves can't spend lots of £30s in the interval before the card is blocked, but using a contactless card exclusively in chip & pin mode doesn't give that protection.

I can't see any difference in safety for transactions under £30 by the authorised cardholder, but would be pleased to hear from the more knowledgeable.

eskbanker

Much depends on exactly what's meant by 'safer', but the cardholder isn't responsible for unauthorised use of cards, whether PIN-authorised or not.

What's the actual concern here?

sal_III

Chip and pin is safer than the old swipe only cards in terms of security since the data can't be scraped from the magnetic stripe with a skimmer.

Contactless is in theory vulnerable if someone gets a card reader close enough to your wallet (1-2") easily mitigated by RFID blocking wallets.

In terms of security while making payments contactless is way safer since you don't have to take the card from the wallet (if not RFID blocking wallet) or a sleeve, so there is zero chance of someone snapping the numbers on the card. Ditto your pin, since oyu don't have to enter it.

For best protection use Apple/Google pay on any contactless enabled terminal (£30) limit or without a limit on Apple/Google pay enabled terminals. This way even the merchant doesn't get your card details so there is no risk of their database getting hacked or whatever and your details leaking.

Homeboy_1

Hi eskbanker. Thanks for your reply. There isn't any real concern here. It's just I was out yesterday with my daughter and I paid for our lunch with my credit card, and used my pin number to validate the transaction. My daughter then told me that I should have used the contactless system to pay for it as it was less than £30. She then told me that it was always safer to use contactless than chip and pin. I just wanted to know if she is right or not. Obviously if it is safer to use use contactless then I will in future

Homeboy_1

Thanks SAL-lll. Very useful information there. Didn't know all that

Eco_Miser

sal_III wrote: »

In terms of security while making payments contactless is way safer since you don't have to take the card from the wallet (if not RFID blocking wallet) or a sleeve, so there is zero chance of someone snapping the numbers on the card.

I've never tried paying contactless without removing the card from my wallet, but I have used my NCTS bus pas that way, and once I had a contactless debit card in there as well, the reader just got confused. Also if I left the card in my wallet how would the reader now which card I wanted to use?
Thanks for the other info.

bobblebob

sal_III wrote: »

Contactless is in theory vulnerable if someone gets a card reader close enough to your wallet (1-2") easily mitigated by RFID blocking wallets.

Ive heard this alot, and seen wallets that block RFID. Has there actually be any real world cases of people exploting the RFID vulnerability? Seems its one of those things that yes in theory can happen but no actualy proof it does

born_again

Never ever seen a counterfeit contactless transaction though card being read by a 3rd party.

In someways contactless is safer.
No one can shoulder surf your pin and then steal your card. Get far more £ at a ATM than in contactless transactions when a card stolen.

But each to their own, and how they perceive the safety.

Tallaght

There was someone in a local paper who stole a card then used it contactless in 3 different off licences x £30 to get alcohol.