Smart card-like and non-card devices are beginning to capture the attention of the popular press, although the panoply of offerings does get confusing (at least to challenged consumers). This article features a description of the Citi Card 2.0 using technology from Dynamics as one example:
This new technology comes with all sorts of advantages: simply by pressing a button, you can choose to pay with debit or credit, or even with rewards. Allowing customers to choose which account to draw from reduces overdraft and encourages responsible spending. And, let’s face it, paying with your credit card rewards points and getting something “for free” is infinitely more rewarding than getting a check in the mail.
The 2G cards offer better fraud protection, too. Users can hide their card number, and use a five-digit PIN to access it. I personally would find this reassuring: some online purchases ask only for your credit card number and CSV, and identity theft is not exactly unheard of. In general, I lean towards keeping more information more private, and I applaud this preemptive security measure.
In the same article, the potential for mobile cards/wallets is discussed. It’s worth taking a step back to look at this array from the consumer’s viewpoint. Many of these are hard to explain technologies, some dependent on the rapidly growing consumer platform of the smartphone. Mercator’s consumer data indicates consumers continue to be cautious about surrendering their payment credentials to new technologies, but that familiarity breeds long term openness. New technologies do emerge; they just all have to come up the adoption curve.
Click here to read the story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-chen/coming-soon-smarter-credi_b_841562.html
