Contactless Cards Raise Consumer Fears

For some consumers, contactless cards have been a concern. Some have reported being charged for payments they never made, or have been charged while accidentally getting their wallet or purse too close to a card reader.

Contactless cards are debit or credit cards that contain a chip that stores the cardholder’s payment information. This allows for tapping the card at card readers to check out while shopping without having to enter a PIN number. The data is only transmitted from the card when it is placed closer than 2 inches from the reader, and it only works for purchases under £20.

This ease of use has also contributed to these reports of mistaken payments.

One bank, First Direct, has recognized that the relatively new card technology requires some tweaking of consumer behavior. They have released a statement to their customers saying, “We have made changes to clarify that if you have a contactless debit card you must remove it from your wallet or purse before using it to make a contactless payment.”

This would certainly cut down on the instances of customers being charged on the wrong card. If a customer has two or more contactless cards, and he taps his wallet to the reader, which card will get charged? Of course in this instance, the blame is squarely on the cardholder.

There have also been worries of roving gangs of criminals with mobile phones swiping their victim’s card data simply by being in proximity to them, and tests have shown that for older contactless cards still in circulation, this could be a viable avenue for fraud.