Credit Card Blog

Barclaycard has announced that it has reached its target of getting a million contactless credit cards out before the end of 2008. This innovative technology means that you can make small purchases (the typical things such as coffee, newspapers, snacks, potential tickets etc) without the hassle of putting your card into a card reader and then having to input your PIN number. You’ll simply be able to touch your credit card against a reader and as long as the purchase is under £10, it’ll automatically be validated.

The top 3 things that barclays talks about are the ease, the security and where you can pay with it.

When it comes to ease, you can’t really beat it. You get what you want to buy, and instead of handing over your card or putting it in a pin reader, or having to fish around for cash, you touch your card against a reader and that’s it – your payment is made. You can ask for a receipt if you want to as well.

As for security – this is one of the biggest reservations I personally had about this. If you’re not required to put in your pin, it’s going to be easy for others to use your card. A lot more responsibility will fall on the credit card owner as well, to ensure that the card stays safe. Barclaycard however state that you have 100% fraud protection, and if your card is misused by someone without your permission, you won’t be liable for losses. It comes with a bit of disclaimer though, which states that you will be liable if you and any additional cardholder negligently give or provide access to the card, account or PIN details which results in those details being used fraudulently. With the maximum at £10, and with this Barclaycard guarantee, it does seem a pretty safe credit card to have. Additionally, Barclaycard have stated that they may somwtimes ask you to enter your PIN for extra security.

If you’re looking to compare other credit cards please visit our comparison page with impartial information and information on the best deals.

This is all good and well – and makes it sound very enticing, but where can you use the credit card? If it’s only accepted at Boots for example, then it’s not going to be very useful (I don’t buy too much from Boots). You can use contactless credit card wherever you see the wave symbol. There are already over 3,000 shops in and around London and another 3,000 nationwide that offer a contactless pay point. They include places like EAT, Yo Sushi!, Coffee Republic and Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and more are coming.  If you want to find more places then Visa Europe have a list here.

If you’re one of the million that have a contactless card feel free to get in touch by dropping us an email or making a comment and let us know what you think about it.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 30th, 2008 at 7:49 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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