Android phones could replace credit cards

Many people use their credit cards and debit cards to pay for purchases when they go shopping, and this is partly because of the convenience and ease that this method of payment offers. However, according to officials from Google, smart phones with the next version of the Google Android Operating System could end up replacing credit cards as a method of payment in High street stores, coffee shops, and other retail establishments.

More and more people are opting for smart phones these days, and the next version of the Google Android smart phone Operating System called Gingerbread, is set to have a Tap and Pay feature on built into it. This feature will allow users to pay for things by simply tapping their smart phone against a specialist reader thus eliminating the need to use a credit card.

The technology was demonstrated recently in San Francisco by the CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, who said that he was working on an unannounced device that would incorporate Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, which is the technology that makes Tap and Pay possible. The technology ensures that credit card details are passed securely between smart phone and reader when the two are tapped together. It is the same technology that is used in existing tap and pay cards that do not require a PIN or signature.

One official said that the uptake of tap and pay enabled smart phones might be slow to start with because people would be a little cautious about using the new technology, but he said that it would most likely pick up quickly.

He stated: “Adoption of NFC smartphones could be slow at first because some people will naturally be hesitant about this revolutionary new way of paying for everyday goods.”

Tags: version, likely pick, Technology, specialist reader, enabled smart phones, system, street, device

Cutting back on mobile phone costs

Cutting back on a variety of costs has become a part of everyday life for many people in the current financial climate, as many are keen to try and save money on their outgoings because of financial difficulties and the risk of job losses. Read more

Tags: Mobile telephony, t-mobile, Technology, Mobile telecommunications, Mobile phone, Subscriber Identity Module

Exercising safety when shopping online

As many people will already know the Internet is home to a myriad of bargain covering a vast range of products and services. Whilst many consumers make the majority of their purchases via the Internet there are others that refuse to shop online because they are fearful about things such as security breaches and card fraud. Read more

Tags: Technology, online shopping, Password, internet, Internet offers, Website, clone site, Paypal, Internet shopping sites, secure site

Consumers need to be wary credit card fraud

Consumers need to be wary of credit card fraud when paying for goods in shops, one security expert has claimed.

The CPP warned that there is a risk that sometimes businesses work in collusion with fraudsters to deceive customers by using two machines – one that they skim the card through before putting it into the chip and pin machine.

Danny Harrison, a security expert at CPP said: “It’s something we need to be careful of. If somebody does take a card we need to be watching what they do with it.”

He added that chip and pin machines can easily be fitted with cloning devices but it should also be easy to recognise when a device has been tampered with.

According to research conducted by CPP, nearly one in five consumers have had their card cloned when using either an ATM or chip and pin machine.

The number of fraud and forgery acts committed in England increased dramatically in 1999 when compared against the number of cases during 1993 to 1999.

Tags: security, Payment systems, forgery, Technology, machines, fraud, Credit card, United Kingdom

Chip and pin – one year on

It was more than a year ago that the UK was first introduced to the payment system of chip and pin.

February 14th 2006 was officially named Pin Day and consumers were told to brace themselves for one of the biggest changes ever seen to the way in which we paid for goods.

Of course it all went off without a hitch, despite scare mongering in some quarters that we would all suffer mental breakdowns as a result of having to remember our pin numbers.

To mark the anniversary of chip and pin, the UK payments association Apacs has released figures regarding the system and its implementation.

Apacs says that more than 185 chip and pin transactions take place every second, 138 million chip and pin cards have been issued and 98 per cent of all shop tills in the UK are chip and pin-friendly.

The association also points to credit card fraud figures, which fell in 2005 and are expected to do the same in 2006, while retailers have reported that transaction times have fallen after an initial bedding-in period.

“The rollout of chip and pin has been a tremendous success,” said Sandra Quinn from Apacs.

“Chip and pin cards now account for 97 per cent of all payment cards in circulation in the UK. As a result, it is now safer than ever to use your card when shopping, and far more difficult for fraudsters to get access to your money.”

Despite the positive figures, chip and pin technology was recently hacked into by researchers at Cambridge University as part of a project designed to test the system’s robustness.

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Card spending increases

New figures show that we spent a record amount of money on our cards over the Christmas period.

The UK payments association Apacs says that plastic card spending reached £31 billion during December, representing 250 transactions per second.

In all, 669 million plastic card transactions were made, signalling a six per cent increase on the same period in 2005 and highlighting how we are becoming increasingly reliant on card payments.

Despite the positive figures, Apacs has revealed that the vast majority of transactions (63 per cent) involved debit cards, while we spent less on our credit cards.

“The trend that we have seen over recent years of cards replacing cash and cheques on the high street continued this Christmas,” said Sandra Quinn from Apacs.

“Our figures show that cardholders are becoming more responsible in the way that they borrow and are clearly focusing on repayments, with the majority of spending being done by debit rather than credit cards.”

Credit card transactions fell from 205 million in December 2005, to 197 million in 2006.

In total, the amount of money spent on credit cards was just £11.4 billion in 2006, down from the £11.5 billion recorded in 2005.

Tags: cheques, credit, card spending, plastic card transactions, new figures, Payment systems, Technology, december