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It looks like a little bit of credit card technology is coming to New York. HSBC is introducing an RFID card so all someone with the card would do is wave or tap it at the point of purchase. The Daily News reports that McDonald's, Duane Reade and UA Theaters will have the RFID technology. The idea is that the card will speed up small purchases (anything less than $25 doesn't need a signature) The first thought that comes to Gothamist's mind is security, but MasterCard's site says there's no liability for fraudulent purchases. Then again, when was the last time anyone looked at the signature panel on your card?
As cool as this new technology is, what we're really wondering about is why the MTA can't come up with something like the CTA's Chicago Card. Our lives would be so much easier if we didn't have to deal with that whole Metrocard swipe. Imagine a life with turnstiles for those with the wireless Metrocard and tourists backed up at the normal Metrocard turnstile. We can dream, can't we?
The PayPass has been tested outside of New York already, has anybody used it?
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I noticed at the new 7-11 on 23rd St that they already have the terminal on the counter that works with both the Visa/MC & Amex versions of this technology.
My Amex Blue card is already equipped but I didn't try paying for my Slurpee with it.
ooh, nice.
i kind of wonder though. if a gas station took it, you would never be able to get a full tank.
another thing - i can't count the number of times i've been to a store with a self-swipe machine, but i still have to give my card to the cashier.
All I know is that I had a 15 minute arguement with a lady at the Post Office because my credit card says "see photo ID" in the signature plate. Apparently the Post Office does not accept this - never mind that my photo and signature were on the front of the card too. Anyway, after finally pulling out the single credit card I have that actually has my signature on it, she doesn't even look at it after I sign the receipt.
speaking of such cards in the chicago subway, the dc metro operates under the same premise, if you have a monthly pass.
i've heard that some people only have to go as far as to pull out their wallet, place it on the card sensor, and then walk through the turnstyle.
it's still better than rifling through the wallet, right?
Washington has the same system as long as you *don't* have a monthly/weekly pass. The SmarTrip can only be used for pay-per-ride transactions, and yes, you can just lay your wallet against the target and it will (usually) work. Chicago seems to have the right idea with dedicated lanes - in Washington farecards and SmarTrip still use the same lanes, and if someone gets befuddled, it holds everyone up. You can add value with cash, debit/credit, or transit benefit cards.
I am not sure, but it looks like the MTA vending machines that accept credit cards only have some sort of contactless hardware... I am not sure if it's for contactless payment or contactless MetroCard (that would be nice). If you look at the machine, you can see this large blank circle with an LED on it.
Forget the Chicago Card. We already have a technology that the MTA should use instead of the Metrocard. EZPass!
Oh, Tina, I have you beat in terms of USPS bureacrats. A clerk I dealt with refused to cash a $50 USPS money order made out to me because I wasn't carrying ID at that instant. I explained I didn't want the cash, I wanted to pay my PO box fee with it. So the funds would be going directly from the USPS to the USPS. If I bounced my payment, they had the power to withhold my mail at the box. She refused to budge.
even better would be if the MTA came out with something similar to Hong Kong's Octopus card.
http://www.octopuscards.com/consumer/payment/use/en/index.jsp
"Octopus can be used on virtually all Hong Kong's transport systems and in over 300 other organisations including car parks, fast food chains, cake, bakery, and convenience stores, supermarkets, personal care stores, vending machines, photobooths, pay phones, photocopiers, cinemas, leisure facilities and schools."
I have the Amex version - Expresspay. It's a keyfob thing (not, like, the chip in your Blue card which is pretty much worthless so far). It's madly convenient - no exchange of money or cards, no swiping, much quicker. They have stores that use it all around the WFC.
CeeTee, the new AmEx Blue cards have actually dropped the smart chip in favor of ExpressPay, so you won't even have to carry the key fob anymore. It's slowly rolling out, and all CVS locations support ExpressPay now in case folks want another palce where they can get a taste of "the future." (wheee...)
Techie folks are pretty concerned about the security implications of these wireless payment things, though...
Walgreens has expresspay too. Unfortunately I still had to sign a slip for it. Totally "mark of the beast" type stuff anyway.
i agree with jj - hong kong's octopus is pretty awesome. they let you carry a one-time negative balance, so you dont have to worry about the dreaded "insufficient fare" when you're in a rush.
to top this, they also have an auto-replenishment feature...which is especially great when you're using a relative's card :)
also forget the CTA Chicago card because its not accesible. the actual "metrocard" in Chicago is an MTA card that you have to put into a slot, like the buses here. its not any more conevenient. and the "Chicago card"? a recent invention for suburbanites mostly, as the value is only most useful if you travel within the burbs and the city, it requires that you register with a credit card, you can only add money to it via credit card online or through the mail (what?) and you HAVE to keep a $5 minimum balance at all times, so therefore...you pay five bucks that you never get to touch. you can't use it if it goes below, they'll close your account.
its completely ridiculous. I lived in Chicago for the last 5 years... the Chicago card, like everything else they try to do to make life better there, is just not worth all the extra hoops you have to jump through.
For all the problems, the MTA has it all over the CTA. its SO much more convenient.
I have the Chicago Card Plus and it's great. It's can be used in either 30-day pass or pay-per-use mode. With my wallet in my back pocket, I can just swivel my hips to hit the sensor and pass through with out taking the wallet out.
It's a mild improvement for the trains, but is a huge improvement for buses, where the queue for boarding directly impacts travel time.
Word is that fares will increase next year but not for those who use the magic card.