OT: warning about using Debit cards at stores

Not here. Depending on the merchant, debit cars can cost a few percent. Credit probably a percent more.

They can, in some states. They won't, because the guy next door will eat their lunch. It's considered *very* bad form. In fact, the only places I know of that offer a discount for cash are by far the most expensive places around, even with cash.

No difference, here. Same price but I get 1% (or maybe something more) back if I use the credit card. There is a real incentive to get me to pay by credit card. I paid for most of my cabinet saw with that cash back (about $1000 of the $1600). ;-)

OK, but do you write it down somewhere else, then?

It's not my money. A little hassle but not much. If Visa doesn't care that they're being ripped off, there isn't much I'm going to do about it. The fact is that these big thefts wouldn't be solved by anything we've talked about here.

It is on the back of the physical card. In the UK at least they have rolled out 3DSecure aka Verified by Visa for online purchases and it asks you for three characters from your secret password as well.

3Dsecure has technical problems in that it is a case study in how not to implement a secure protocol but never the less it is widely adopted.

When I first encountered it online asking me to sign up after making a purchase I suspected a man in the middle attack and reported it to Barclaycard fraud. It turned out to be genuine but they had failed to communicate with their customers in a timely fashion. The announcement of this "improvement" arrived with my next statement!

Here bank cards must incur some extra charges on the merchant (but less than fro credit cards). In Belgium cryptographic ecash called Protons were available on bank cards with zero handling charge and became very popular when the Euro was introduced to avoid physical cash entirely.

You could buy a loaf of bread with ecash in moments no PIN to enter.

The credit card companies here are at present rolling out contactless cards that use short range passive WiFi and these are causing problems as some terminals manage to snatch the money off a card inside a purse that is not the one the customer intended to use!

There is a website detailing where to drill to disable the antenna - although it is easier to do this if you have an Xray kit to hand.

The advert to promote this thing consists of a guy whizzing down a waterslide buying stuff without stopping as he goes. Go figure!

--
Regards, 
Martin Brown

Sure (it's a 4-digit number on the front of AmEx cards), but he's masked his so it can't be seen.

I did the same. I never received the notice, though.

Who pays for it. The banks?

Yes, AmEx has a system using cell phones, now. I'm not sure I like it so took their card and stuck it in my safe, unverified, while I research it. Am I taking the liability for fraud?

My chipped AmEx card is clear so the antenna is pretty easy to find. ;-) No one uses the chip, though.

Wunnerful!

Den onsdag den 29. januar 2014 17.36.19 UTC+1 skrev snipped-for-privacy@attt.bizz:

I just remember it, just like I remember my pin

snip

here there is a national debit card, all the banks have a joint company that handles it, the merchant pays for it

online shops something like 0.25$ a transaction physical shops a flat fee per year based on ranges of annual transactions ranging from 100$ for 0-500, to ~25000$ for 400000+

-Lasse

Since I can't set it, there are too many such numbers to even bother trying to remember. Same with passwords at work.

So that's the same as debit cards here. The merchant pays a vig to their transaction processor, who pays to the CC company.

Same deal, different price.

The cryptographic cash - I think so as it sort of comes with the account (you do pay some banking charges each year). The banks gain by not having to move as much bulk coin around and count it up. The only PITA was just after the Euro D-day when the next time you used the card your BEF Protons had to be very painfully transmuted into Euro Protons.

A brief history of their eCash scheme and its latest incarnation is at

UK has run into trouble with its coinage as the metal content of the smaller denomination coins is now worth more than their face value. They have switched to steel plated with cupronickel but forgot to tell vending machine makers who use magnets to prevent iron washers etc!

The result is extremely annoying when you have a pocket full of newly ferromagnetic change than no carparking ticket machine will accept etc.

Contactless bank cards seem to be a solution looking for a problem. I don't trust anything that works like that as some smart Alec will devise a highly directional antenna to read/steal money remotely.

It is a completely surreal advert (and a twisty very long waterslide).

It is online so enjoy!

--
Regards, 
Martin Brown

check out person at Lowe's said the following to me today:

card as credit card.

parks in lot and decodes your debit signal. Then empties your bank account.

2000 apiece.

Not true where i live: CA, USA. You have much greater liability and can spend more than your base account if backed with a credit or savings account or both. I do try to pay attention to the terms and conditions of my financial accounts.

?-)

OK

I remember seeing that in comp.risks a while back.

?-)

Thanks for that possibly useful idea.

?-)

_>I believe with something like Mastercard credit the shop can charge _ _>you what Mastercard charges them. _

_>So it is only if you like paying extra you use a credit card_

That is a really appropriate way to do things.

?-)