
Trouble in the Checkout Line: Which Way to Pay? - sergeant3
http://www.wsj.com/articles/trouble-in-the-checkout-line-which-way-to-pay-1448706603
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cballard
I will always use Apple Pay if available, since it prevents tracking by evil
merchants and leaks by hackers via unique credit card numbers.

I do not understand why the US uses these terrible chip and signature cards,
which were a repeated source of frustration for me in Europe this year, since
they don't work anywhere.

Maybe they think Americans are too dumb to comprehend a PIN, despite having
used them for years on ATMs? If so, why add the time-wasting signature? If
we're not doing chip and pin (we should), why not chip and nothing? My
signature is a different squiggle every time, there's no way they're doing
computer vision on that in time to verify the transaction (if they could even
decode it at all).

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toast0
I have one atm card, and six credit cards. It's easy to remember one pin, but
not seven. Also, typing a pin on a merchant controlled device seems like a
terrible idea. (I try to only use the ATMs controlled by the institution that
issued my card)

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bkor
Change your PIN? The problem with bank cards is when you swipe then, not if
you dip them. Interestingly, the NFC bank cards are practically more safe
because (at least in my country) you don't need to enter your PIN below 25
EUR. With the average transaction 10-12 EUR, there's way less options to
capture the PIN.

A signature can easily be faked. The cost of fraud is passed on so best to
have it secure.

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bobbles
Being from australia, when i purchase something it could potentially be cash
only, swipe CC, insert CC or use paypass/paywave (nfc).

Not once have I ever considered this to be 'dizzying'

I mean, if you insert the card and it needs you to swipe, it tells you to
swipe the card right there on the terminal (or just doesnt have the chip slot
on it).

Why dont people just throw their wallets at the register and start curling up
into a ball when it doesnt work

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bkor
In Netherlands they coordinated it. Any machine which switched from swipe to
dip has their swipe covered with sticky tape. Before that they replaced the
bank cards with one with both chip and magnetic strip on it. There was a
deadline for merchants to switch and advertisements to inform the public. Dip
is slower than swiping. NFC is fastest (because often you don't enter a PIN).

Abroad is fun. Some places want my PIN and my signature! Others just one of
them, a few nothing.

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mschuster91
Easy solution: stick. to. cash.

Side benefit: authorities, tracking companies, banks, "big data analysts" and
friends cannot use the information about your shopping behaviour to profile
you.

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gizmo686
I would not be so sure about the authorities. Consider:

1) Get cash out of bank. At this point, it is possible to record which bills
you received from the bank.

2) Spend cash at store.

3) Store deposits cash at bank.

Because of how little a lot of cash tends to circulate before being returned
to the banks, it is possible for the authorities to get a fair idea of how you
spend your cash. This is still better then cards, but not nearly as good as it
looks.

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J_Darnley
Sure government or bank tracking could know _where_ you spent that money but
less so on _what_. Spending it in a supermarket will tell them food but not
brands or habits or diet.

If you also have other people getting cashback at the same register the notes
are then spread to someone else before collection.

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rwbt
May be I'm old fashioned, but unless I'm buying something expensive I stick to
just cash. Always works. Ironically, now I consider cash more 'secure' than
plastic.

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joezydeco
I'm calling it now: at least one major US retailer will miss their holiday
sales projections and blame it squarely on EMV card transaction times.

