Everything you should Know About Payment Card
Introduction
The advent of new technologies that facilitate payments including cryptocurrencies, cash-sharing apps, and mobile wallets puts the traditional credit cards in a complicated situation. On the one hand, although the use of the credit card solved a significant problem that many users of cash were experiencing, it is yet to adapt to the rapid changes that are taking place in the industry. Moreover, credit cards present a set of unique problems to users, top among them being the need to carry multiple cards at any given time. Here is everything that you need to know about payment card.
📚 History
The history of the credit card is concurrent with that of money. Initially, people used barter trade to complete transactions amongst themselves. However, the need to measure the value of the transactions created a need for money. At first, people used money solely to estimate the value of the deals that they conducted in barter. It was much later that the society started to use the money to measure value and as a medium of exchange.
People started using cards to solve the problems associated with having to carry lots of money everywhere. If you deposit money in a bank account, you do not have to visit the bank to withdraw money every time you need to transact. You can effectively access and use your money by using a card.
💳 Credit card statistic
There is a dissonance between the statistics that show how people use credit cards in the world in general and the rise of new payment apps and methods. For example, the average rate of usage of credit cards currently stands at only 30 %. Also, on average, a person has 3.1 different credit cards which they mainly use for online shopping, online travel and paying for goods at department stores. Moreover, the emergence of smartphones has presented a mix of opportunities and problems.
On the one hand, Google estimates that on average, every smartphone has 35 installed apps. Given the number of such apps, it is easy for some of the apps to lie idle for a long time. From these statistics, there is a need to combine all the payment options into a single highly convenient and secure solution.
👋 Contactless cards
The proper name of contactless cards is dual interface cards. These types of cards have the standard EMV chip and a form of contactless technology. The use of these two forms of technology enables users to utilize their cards comfortably, depending on the kind of systems that merchants use in their premises. The most important feature of contact cards is that when using them, you only have to be close to the Point of Sale to complete the transaction. The card automatically communicates with the systems of the merchant to capture all your information and facilitate the completion of the transaction.
📜 Myths about contactless cards
The beauty of contactless cards is not without problems. Many people hold different myths about the use of contactless cards. The myths cover various aspects of the technology such as the overall safety of the cards and the extent to which users are responsible. For example, some people wrongly believe that a thief can make a counterfeit copy of a contactless card by stealing critical information. However, this is not the case because, for every transaction, there is a random generation and the encryption of a specific number. For a thief to make a functioning replica of your card, they need to access this number. As things are right now, it is almost impossible for a third party to obtain the number.
Another common misconception about contactless cards is that a third person can secretly access critical information about them. Although some apps that read contactless card data do exist, their capacity is severely limited. A person who uses any of the apps can only access necessary information about your card like its expiration date. A fraudster is unlikely to find any good use of such information about your card.
🔒 Tips, how to secure your contactless card
The fact that there are many myths about the use of contactless cards does not mean that instances of theft do not occur. On the contrary, statistics indicate that fraud based on contactless cards in the United Kingdom has risen by 150% in just over a year. With this trend set to increase over the next few years as it spreads across the world, you need to understand how to secure your contactless card.
You can take several measures to secure your card. First, ensure that you use a solid PIN. Ideally, your PIN number should be a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Using such numbers helps to prevent cases of hackers accessing your personal information. Second, keep your card as far away as possible while you are in public places. The fact that people can use card-reading apps to access necessary information about your contactless card means that you should be careful when carrying the card in public.
🧳 Wearable Contactless Payments (Cards)
Observers generally agree that in light with the current challenges associated with credit cards and not contactless cards, wearable payment devices may be the next viable solution. Although the use of the devices is yet to become globally accessible, the companies that are creating the devices and technology argue that it may be the most convenient method of carrying money and paying for goods and services. Apart from the convenience that one enjoys while using wearable contactless payment devices, there is the argument that the devices may be used for many other purposes.
📌 Conclusion
In conclusion, the use of credit cards, contactless cards and now, wearable payment options are supposed to make it easy for you to complete transactions. However, all these methods have merits and demerits. It is because of the need to make payments more comfortable, faster and more convenient that new ways are continuously emerging.
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