Credit Card Blog

 With “blink” technology on credit cards, people actually pay for their purchases via radio signal.  The card is not swiped and a magnetic-strip is not read.  How secure can a “blink” credit card be?

With a magnetic strip card, the information can be taken with equipment that’s been around for years.  With the encryption that is built into the blink cards, that same type of theft wouldn’t be possible- and the cashier never even has your card in his or her hand (eliminating the possibility of stealing the data with a handheld unit or memorizing the numbers).

It’s true that the signature on a magnetic strip card is supposed to be a form of security- but you’ve probably heard of pranks where people sign fake names or just scribble on the line rather than sign their name and the purchase is still made.  The signature doesn’ t offer much security because no one bothers to compare it to the signature on the back of the credit card anymore.  So, the fact that blink technology credit cards do not require a signature isn’t much of  security concern.

More concerning is the possibility of walking by a cash register and accidentally paying for someone elses purchase at the blink of an eye!  What’s to stop your card from paying if you are within range of the card readers?  Metal will, actually.  If the blink technology catches on and cards are issued with this technology- you would then need to purchase a metal sleeve or special wallets and purses that prevent your card from being read while inside the sleeve or wallet.

What’s the reason for the possible change in how credit cards are processed?  Primarily, it would be to “speed up transactions”.