Live data from Hacker News

Swiping left on magnetic stripes

mastercard.com

291–300 of 325 posts

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#291
post #12

Why does it take so long? Where’s the bottleneck? Where I lived over the last years (two countries in Europe), I don’t even have to use the physical card. I just use contactless payments with the phone. Prior to that, it was contactless with card. Even ATMs work with contactless (not all, yet). Prior to that, it was chip. I honestly don’t even recall the time when the magnetic stripe was needed. (edit) Think of this:…

Where’s the bottleneck? Gas stations. The gas station industry has been avoiding upgrading pumps. It's expensive. Retail checkouts usually just need a replacement of the desktop unit, but gas pumps require actual modification. They got a 3-year delay, until October 2020. Then April 17, 2021. Then they got hit by the coronavirus epidemic. The upgrade has to be done by a qualified installer; you don't want someone who…

Super smart, yeah. BTW if we're gonna replace tons of gas pumps, can we make it illegal to play TV/ads on them? Lord I hate it so much.

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#292
post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gas stations also have a disincentive to have you pay at the pump. They want you to walk in and buy from the mini-market, at least here in Australia the petrol was a loss-leader for a long time. They made all their money from the in store mini-market. All petrol stations here are essentially convenience stores with a gas station attached to get you in the door. We have had pay at the pump before, but they got rid of…

This should be a good incentive for "gas stations" to set up and maintain SAE CCS DC Fast charging for electric vehicles. Put a couple of small tables and a cafe, and people would stick around for the 30 minutes to get a good charge.

That was the premise for CHAdeMO. Stop and have a cup of coffee and read the paper in a Starbucks-esque environment. Perhaps even mingle with one's fellow man.

I don't think it will really work outside of very specific demographics who a.) want to get coffee and read the paper/rss feeds, and b.) have 30 minutes to spend on a charge-centric event (as in you went there to charge, not to get coffee and croissant).

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#293
post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just US. Take for example Germany, the largest country in EU and most places are cash-only. Although due to coronavirus adoption of different payment methods (apple pay, contactless, card, etc) has been increasing.

What is wrong with cash? It is one of the most fail proof form of payment. Stripe fail, chip fail, NFC fail, internet connection fail, phone line fail. But cash work almost all the time. In last year, I have bailed out quite a few people stuck in the checkout lines because whatever hi tech form of payment, they were using, didn’t work and had no cash.

You have to remember to get it out of the ATM. I ran out of cash like a week or two ago and have been too lazy or forgetful to stop by an ATM to get it.

Not to mention to use an ATM you need a card already to begin with, might as well just pay with that card directly?

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where’s the bottleneck? Gas stations. The gas station industry has been avoiding upgrading pumps. It's expensive. Retail checkouts usually just need a replacement of the desktop unit, but gas pumps require actual modification. They got a 3-year delay, until October 2020. Then April 17, 2021. Then they got hit by the coronavirus epidemic. The upgrade has to be done by a qualified installer; you don't want someone who…

Super smart, yeah. BTW if we're gonna replace tons of gas pumps, can we make it illegal to play TV/ads on them? Lord I hate it so much.

Try the buttons around the display. That almost always solves the problem. If none of them work, stop pumping gas and leave. That always solves the problem.

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#295
post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Venmo offers debit and you can add the card to your wallet

I do not understand the purpose of Venmo. It seems like an unnecessary middleman.

How do I easily pay a friend? Are you just going to say Zelle?

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not understand the purpose of Venmo. It seems like an unnecessary middleman.

How do I easily pay a friend? Are you just going to say Zelle?

Yes. Are there any advantages of Venmo over Zelle?

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do I easily pay a friend? Are you just going to say Zelle?

Yes. Are there any advantages of Venmo over Zelle?

Zelle took a long time to be developed, so it has essentially no network effects - most people don't have Zelle.

Zelle can only be used by people who have banks that support Zelle, which many people do not (my bank for instance does not support Zelle, nor does my SO's - so we have no way of using Zelle to transfer money between each other.)

Zelle doesn't allow you to use credit card AFAIK. Zelle doesn't have QR code AFAIK.

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#298
post #12

Why does it take so long? Where’s the bottleneck? Where I lived over the last years (two countries in Europe), I don’t even have to use the physical card. I just use contactless payments with the phone. Prior to that, it was contactless with card. Even ATMs work with contactless (not all, yet). Prior to that, it was chip. I honestly don’t even recall the time when the magnetic stripe was needed. (edit) Think of this:…

To play devil's advocate – who cares? We've had magnetic strips for decades and they work fine. Yes, they're insecure but anti-fraud measures taken by the bank can mitigate that. If this helps more stores accept payments without having a painful transition isn't that worth it? I use Apple Pay most places but I don't mind having to use a strip once in a while or if others do.

The fatter margins in card processing in the US can pay for more fraud than in other countries where regulators have limited card processing interchange fees (e.g. 3% is common in the US, 0.3% is regulated in the EU)

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#299
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just in case you have an Apple Watch and weren’t aware, or you plan to get one, there’s this feature that made my life easier: Unlock your iPhone with Apple Watch when you're wearing a face mask https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212208

This will unlock your phone but not authorize Apple Pay. So the Watch is much more convenient for payments in mask mandate areas. I find it more convenient to tap when unmasked too but that’s more personal preference.

[deleted]

Re: Swiping left on magnetic stripes

#300
post #57
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only reason I’ve started using my card lately is because Face ID is harder with a mask on.

Just in case you have an Apple Watch and weren’t aware, or you plan to get one, there’s this feature that made my life easier: Unlock your iPhone with Apple Watch when you're wearing a face mask https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212208

If you have an Apple Watch, you can just pay with the watch
Post reply on HN