As if credit cards aren’t already convenient and simple enough to use, Chase has made it a bit easier to make purchases with your credit card, adding yet another convenience to credit card purchases. How, you might ask? Simple. By taking advantage of the technology already in use at places such as toll booths: radio frequency identification, or RFID.
With RFID, a cardholder can scan his or her credit card much more quickly without having to swipe it at all. This is made possible because the card information is stored on both sides of the credit card. What is even better is that this new technology not only makes the transaction faster, it also makes it safer when it comes to protecting against credit card fraud. This is because only the last four digits of the credit card number are actually printed on the credit card. The rest of the information is scanned by the RFID computers. I am certainly more than willing to try a card that will help keep me protected.
Merchants capable of taking advantage of these new credit cards are still limited. A few drug stores, convenience stores, and fast food joints are capable of the fast pay. But, as more and more people learn about this type of card, I am sure more merchants will hope on board. Especially because the efficiency of this technology will allow them to move through their customers more quickly and, in turn, will help them increase their profits.
Customers and merchants aren’t the only ones who stand to profit from this new technology. In fact, credit card companies that have jumped on board with RFID have noticed that cardholders are more likely to spend money when the technology is in place. It has long been known that, the more convenient it is to spend cash, the more likely people are to make big purchases and engage in impulse buying.
Of course, the more cardholders spend on their cards, the more cash the credit card company will make. Even if the cardholder pays off the balance at the end of each billing cycle – and most cardholders do not – the credit card company makes money from the merchants that accept the credit card at their establishment. So, while the convenience of the credit card may seem great to you at first, remember that it does make it easier to be irresponsible and to pile up an insurmountable amount of debt.
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