Chip and Pin

[Limey]

Finally, coming to America.  Banks are looking at October 2015 as the date by which all cards will have an embedded chip.

In addition to combating card fraud, which is does in spades (it's impossible to clone a chip 'n' pin card) it's way faster to effect a transaction.  Any of you who have been to not-America may have seen the process by which a patron orders the check, and his server simply whips out a card reader and calls it up.  He hands it over, you slide in your card, add your tip, punch in your pin and hit the go button.  The reader then spits out a nicely printed receipt.

Contrast this with the process here.  You ask your server for the check.  They say "Of course" and then disappear for 5 minutes.  Then they swoop by your table and drop the check, and then disappear for 5 minutes.  You put your card in the folder, and wait for them to come and collect it.  This they do, and then they disappear with your card for another 5 minutes - hopefully just processing the transaction, but they could be cloning it and taking a photo of the front and back all on a smart phone!  Then they bring it back, you add the tip and sign and take your copy of the receipt.  You might as well be giving them your card number using smoke signals.

Long overdue!

[Bench]

Any of you who have been to not-America may have seen the process by which a patron orders the check, and his server simply whips out a card reader and calls it up.

Mr. Happy is very nervous about this development. 

[Mr. Happy]

Mr. Happy is very nervous about this development. 

This does make me nervous. I just bought a wallet that had RFID coating to protect against poachers on the chip-embedded cards.

[Limey]

This does make me nervous. I just bought a wallet that had RFID coating to protect against poachers on the chip-embedded cards.

Don't worry.  The nice folks at the Royal Bank of Canada have some reassuring FAQs for you.

Also, chip and pin cards are not scan-able in the way that RFID cards are.  Which begs the question, why have RFID cards if you're so scared about them being scanned?

[Mr. Happy]

Don't worry.  The nice folks at the Royal Bank of Canada have some reassuring FAQs for you.

Also, chip and pin cards are not scan-able in the way that RFID cards are.  Which begs the question, why have RFID cards if you're so scared about them being scanned?

I don't think that I have any. I'm just getting ready for it.

[Limey]

I don't think that I have any. I'm just getting ready for it.

RFID is old hat.  If you don't have a card with it, you won't get one.

[Trey]

I'm way to worried about credit card fraud to ever get one of those.  I'll just keep writing checks out on a good old fashioned piece of paper that contains my bank account and routing number and then hand it over to this total stranger in a job that turns over every week, thankyouverymuch.

[Mr. Happy]

I'm way to worried about credit card fraud to ever get one of those.  I'll just keep writing checks out on a good old fashioned piece of paper that contains my bank account and routing number and then hand it over to this total stranger in a job that turns over every week, thankyouverymuch.

A man after my own heart.

[GreatBagwellsBeard]

I'm way to worried about credit card fraud to ever get one of those.  I'll just keep writing checks out on a good old fashioned piece of paper that contains my bank account and routing number and then hand it over to this total stranger in a job that turns over every week, thankyouverymuch.

The people in line behind you at Kroger love you.

[subnuclear]

If we could get rid of every coin except the quarter, I would pay for almost everything in cash.

[Limey]

If we could get rid of every coin except the quarter, I would pay for almost everything in cash.

20 years ago, I had a series of checks stolen out of the mail.  I was dealing with the fallout from that for years.

While in London recently, due to the lack of a chip on any of my cards, I paid for a lot of things in cash.  My debit card got hacked when used in the ATM of a national bank.

There is no way to beat these arseholes.  You just have to play whackamole.

[Bench]

The people in line behind you at Kroger love you.

My favorite is when everything is rung up, bagged, and the cashier gives the old lady a total she only then starts rummaging through her giant purse looking for her checkbook.

[BudGirl]

The people in line behind you at Kroger love you.

Gives me more time to read the news magazines.

[austro]

Gives me more time to read the news magazines.

There aren't any pictures of Brad in those.

[homer]

I'm way to worried about credit card fraud to ever get one of those.  I'll just keep writing checks out on a good old fashioned piece of paper that contains my bank account and routing number and then hand it over to this total stranger in a job that turns over every week, thankyouverymuch.

You have less liability from credit card fraud than you would from check fraud.

[Limey]

You have less liability from credit card fraud than you would from check fraud.

I had two warrants issued on me, both by Randall's.  I had to go to two different courts to have the charges dropped.   Check fraud is WAAAAAY worse than credit card fraud.  And waaaaay easier to perpetrate. 

[NeilT]

There aren't any pictures of Brad in those.

I think she never stops looking.

[Bench]

You have less liability from credit card fraud than you would from check fraud.

Trey was being sarcastic. 

[homer]

Trey was being sarcastic. 

That makes me very Happy. Which makes me sad.

[Mr. Happy]

That makes me very Happy. Which makes me sad.

Bite your tongue, young man.

[austro]

Trey was being sarcastic. 

Thank you. Geez, I kept looking at the responses and wondering why nobody was seeing this.

[chuck]

Thank you. Geez, I kept looking at the responses and wondering why nobody was seeing this.

I decided to keep mum hoping it would end up the way it did.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

I decided to keep mum hoping it would end up the way it did.

Yep.

[Mr. Happy]

I decided to keep mum hoping it would end up the way it did.

You devil, you. Foiled again.