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What happens when you swipe a credit card

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Re: What happens when you swipe a credit card

#21

Post by chrisseaton »

ghaff wrote: post #19
chrisseaton wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you want to put your card in at the start? Why not put it in at the end when it's time to pay?

He says why. With swiping, you can often do the swipe while the clerk is ringing up your groceries and put your wallet away as opposed to having to do the transaction at the end (as you also need to do if you use your phone). He's not wrong although this is pretty far down my list of life's annoyances :-)

What happens if you get to the end and you want to dispute the cost and you've already swiped your card? Is it too late?

Re: What happens when you swipe a credit card

#22

Post by jeffmould »

chrisseaton wrote: post #8
coin wrote: post #4

> swipe your card Sadly swiping is being replaced by chipcard.

Chip cards replaced swiping over a decade ago, and a couple of years ago contactless replaced chip cards for most purposes. Does anyone literally swipe a credit card any more? I can't remember seeing it done in years except in some parts of Europe.

In the US swiping is fairly common. I might only use my chip once or twice a week. The gas stations all by me, my grocery store, and most of the restaurants near me all still have swipe readers. They are all fairly large chains so this isn't some local one off.

Re: What happens when you swipe a credit card

#23

Post by ghaff »

stephenhuey wrote: post #20
leeoniya wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well, there's the rest of the world, and there's the US, where chip cards are recent and still lack chip+pin requirement for now. we still use imperial units, too! not to mention the worst (read: non-existent) maternity-leave laws on earth - worse than many less developed countries.

Exactly! He said that with such authority, didn't he? :) Chase just issued me a chip card in the last couple of years, and every time I check out of a store equipped with a terminal that can do both, it's still pretty much a 50/50 chance they'll tell me the chip reader doesn't work yet and I need to swipe.

In my experience most stores are pretty good at this point about having some sort of sign or label if their chip reader isn't working. But I'm sure it's not always the case and there was certainly a lot of confusion a year or so ago when they were first phased in.

Re: What happens when you swipe a credit card

#26

Post by sandGorgon »

coin wrote: post #12
jwilk wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why sadly?

Because swiping is so much more convenient. With a magnetic transaction I can just swipe and put my card away. Most of the time I swipe at the beginning of a long checkout (grocery store). With a chip transaction, I need to leave the card in until the very end. I now need to leave my wallet out, or put the wallet away and then remember to take the card back. More card readers are optimized for swiping with card inser…

This is NOT a consequence of chip card. In India, everything is chip and pin. Our ATM machines just need you to put the card in , chip side facing up and then take it out 2 seconds later (it glows green). Then you can put in your PIN number and move forward.

Re: What happens when you swipe a credit card

#27

Post by ghaff »

chrisseaton wrote: post #21
ghaff wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He says why. With swiping, you can often do the swipe while the clerk is ringing up your groceries and put your wallet away as opposed to having to do the transaction at the end (as you also need to do if you use your phone). He's not wrong although this is pretty far down my list of life's annoyances :-)

What happens if you get to the end and you want to dispute the cost and you've already swiped your card? Is it too late?

I imagine they'll void or otherwise adjust the transaction. I've never had an issue. Frankly I'm more likely to notice something while I'm leaving the store if something didn't seem quite right and I start looking over the receipt.

Re: What happens when you swipe a credit card

#29

Post by vertex-four »

chrisseaton wrote: post #21
ghaff wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He says why. With swiping, you can often do the swipe while the clerk is ringing up your groceries and put your wallet away as opposed to having to do the transaction at the end (as you also need to do if you use your phone). He's not wrong although this is pretty far down my list of life's annoyances :-)

What happens if you get to the end and you want to dispute the cost and you've already swiped your card? Is it too late?

The swipe transaction system doesn't provide a mechanism to authorize a transaction for a specific amount, unlike the chip system. That is - you swipe, and the merchant uses the details on the magstripe to make some arbitrary transaction later on - potentially weeks or months later as I've found out in the very few places in the UK that still run offline transaction systems. With a chip system, you authorize a specific amount and no more within a dedicated machine, and the merchant doesn't get a hold of all the details necessary to make another transaction.

Re: What happens when you swipe a credit card

#30

Post by tyoma »

coin wrote: post #12
jwilk wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why sadly?

Because swiping is so much more convenient. With a magnetic transaction I can just swipe and put my card away. Most of the time I swipe at the beginning of a long checkout (grocery store). With a chip transaction, I need to leave the card in until the very end. I now need to leave my wallet out, or put the wallet away and then remember to take the card back. More card readers are optimized for swiping with card inser…

Yes, this! At least in the US, there is zero benefit to me as a consumer from chip cards.

The banks have not increased rewards, or lowered interchange fees (thereby lowering retail prices).

Federal law protects me from fraud no matter the card input method.

Due to the risk of online fraud, I still have to check my statement for fraudulent charges.

There are, however, noticeable downsides. Including everything coin mentioned, here are a few more downsides to chip cards, at least in the US:

* Chip cards are slow in the US. This has gotten better lately, but its still bad. Before the downvotes start, look at the references [1] [2]. This leads noticeably longer lines at stores.

* Not every merchant accepts chip cards. Sometimes its hard to tell which version the merchant accepts.

* There are a lot more annoying noises (the buzz when you leave your card in too long). Its a small nuisance, but it adds up. Previously the transactions were silent.

[1] https://www.quora.com/Why-are-chip-payments-so-slow-in-the-U...

[2] https://www.wsj.com/articles/chip-card-nightmares-help-is-on...

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