Visa Wastes Both Time and Money
Looks like Visa is trying to replace the current magnetic strip based credit cards with cards that only need to be in the vicinity of a reader. They are also adding another feature that allows purchases under $25 US to not require a signature. This is a terrible idea.
What Visa doesn’t seem to understand is that if you are going to retrain consumers on how to use their credit cards and you are going to the cost and trouble of replacing the entire card reading infrastructure as well as retraining your merchants, the experience shouldn’t be just a little better, it needs to be radically better. This isn’t anywhere near radically better and as a result it won’t catch on with consumers, the merchants who do get the new equipment will watch this feature go unused, and Visa will waste a ton of cash.
In an age where credit card companies openly complain of all the fraud they have to deal with, why make the validity of common purchases uncheckable. With no signature required, the merchant has no ability to ask for identification if they suspect the transaction may be fraudulent.
Silliness like this reminds me why I try to pay for most things with cash.
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You’re right, it’s a stupid idea. Maybe what they’re trying to get at is that you’ll be able to charge things without taking your card out of your wallet? If they were to supply new machines and new cards to people, then they could almost force people to use their Visa card by virtue of having the machine automatically detect it. However, like you say, it’s a crap idea.
On the other hand, I would argue that it is better to see people try to innovate than to rely on old technology. What I would love of this technology is to see it installed in laundromats, so that I could do my laundry without putting frickin’ quarters in the machines, and without getting a card out.
QT (Quik Trip), a major gas station chain, has implemented the $25.00 or less rule for several months now. I agree, it appears Visa is foolishly inviting a multitude of nickel and dime fraud. Are bankruptcy filings down? Maybe Visa needs to pad their write-offs.
Along the same line, what is the protocol for signing when you validly use someone else’s credit card (parents, boss, friend)? Your name or theirs? I’ve done both, as it seems not to matter.
Ultimately, fraud is reduced when the clerk verifies the signature and name on the card against other id (which they rarely do). If Visa is merely trying to create a more convenient transaction for the card holder, then I’m all for them investing in making a magnetic strip that lasts until the card expiration date.
Beneficial to the insider syndicate not to Visa Co. and individual member.