Interesting possibility what do you think? LINK Imagine strolling into your local supermarket, popping your essentials into a basket, heading to the bagging area - where no items are unexpected - and walking out with your weekly shop. There is no need to make a payment, no fiddling with coins, and no placement of a debit or credit card in a terminal. In fact, there is no till at all. This is not casual shoplifting but a realistic prospect of the future way to pay - when technology recognises your presence, scans your shopping, and invisibly takes payment from your account. Credit cards have evolved since 1966, but the basic procedure of payment has remained the same. A card is either handed over, or the number on it is read out or entered into a machine. All that requires the existence of a plastic card, but Mr Sajed says this is being replaced by wearable items. At a display for Barclaycard staff, he shows off a plastic ring, a bracelet and a keychain which all contain a chip allowing the shopper to make payments on credit. Some of the wearable devices may not suit everyone's sense of fashion This, he says, is just a bridge to technology that will see customers identified by their eye or fingerprint, located via their smartphone, and able to shop without queuing up at a checkout.
I'm just an old fashioned girl - with an old fashioned curl Anything that's technical - just sends me in a whirl I'm just an old fashioned girl, with me old fashioned way And I'd much rather queue and pay .............
We are definitely getting closer and closer to this scenario, @Terry Page . Apple has their Apple Pay, which can be done with the phone or even with your Apple watch; so using a ring or bracelet can not be far behind. Many stores have online shopping, where you can order and pay for your items online, and then just drive down to the store and pick them up. I have seen the loaded shopping carts with names on them waiting for pickup when I was at Kroger or Sam's club shopping. We have a thread about Amazon doing something similar, where you shop at the store in Seattle, and the sensor can tell what you are putting into your shopping cart. Except for groceries, we do a lot of our shopping online with Amazon because we have free shipping with our prime account.
And someone else will invent a small hand held device that will read or scan the info as they pass near you. Then, they go on a shopping spree until your broke. I like cash. I like the feel of cash. I like being able to see and feel it. Sorry, but reading about my money on a bank statement just don't turn my crank.
I think that they already do have something that can read some of the cards or chips, @Ike Willis . I remember reading about someone who was in line at some store, and even though her credit card was still in her billfold, the card machine had already picked it up just because it was close enough to the scanner. There are little scanner things that crooks put into ATM machines and then they have your credit card information after you have used the machine. The thumbprints like Apple uses are probably more secure; but even that can probably be scammed somehow.
I will never have a Smartphone, whether or not that be a requisite for the new technology. However, I do know also that credit card fraud is rampant to the tune of billions of dollars, so it's likely only a matter of time before cards are replaced by something much more personal. But, no one will ever get near my eyes, or fingertips. I have been the victim of not only credit card theft, but also identity theft, even though I have exercised diligence over the years about maintaining my anonymity as much as possible. Awhile back, I got a call from Bank of America, the agent rattled off his name, ID #, and otherwise sounded legitimate, and asked me if I had used my credit card in Lansing, Michigan within the past week. I told him hell no, what is this all about? After proving my identity by other than incriminating (i.e. SS #) information, he revealed my card was used at McDonalds and a convenience store in Lansing. He asked if I knew for sure where my card was, it was in my wallet, I assured him. Then it dawned on me to ask him how my card's number only, no card present, could be so used at businesses that surely required the card's physical presence. He knew I "had him", then, and admitted stolen card numbers were being used to make illegitimate copies of people's cards! Probably sold on the Net, bought by folks willing or needing to buy necessities using someone else's name. What McDonalds would, after all, ask for a second ID? Around our neck of the woods, especially in the casinos, no card will be accepted without a photo ID proving the card holder's identity and name comparison to their card. Gotta agree with Ike. I'm old fashioned, and prefer cash to all else. Frank
Here is my score which came today with the monthly statement for one of my credit cards. Kicker is, another card also sends it, theirs says 779. Big difference considering both scores are assumably taken at nearly the same time, and virtually nothing concerning my credit-worthiness changes, as far as I'm concerned, ever. What gives with such nonsense. I realize they are both good scores, just think they should not be so widely scattered. Frank