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Three 'chip and pin' stories November 2014 - December 2014
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The value of Apple Pay in one stat: almost half of Americans have had card details stolen

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Dec 19 2014 - 7:11 am PT
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Apple Pay may be more convenient than carrying around a whole bunch of different cards, and contactless payment is certainly very quick and easy, but it’s the security which is arguably the greatest benefit. Your actual card details are never stored in your phone or on an Apple server, and only a one-time code is sent to the payment terminal. Retailers never see your card details.

Just how important is this? A WSJ/NBC News poll reveals that a full 45% of Americans have been told by a retailer, bank or card company that their card details have been stolen in a data breach.

In the past year alone, major breaches have been reported at Target, J.P. Morgan Chase, Home Depot, K-Mart, SuperValu and others […] 

Some 45% of Americans said they had received such a breach notification letter from a retailer or card-issuer that their payment data had been affected by a breach

Fifteen percent of those polled also said that they had been hit by online fraud or hacking.

Apple Pay is currently only available in the US, but a job listing recently revealed that Apple is working on bringing the service to Europe and beyond.

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Square chip-and-signature cardreaders available for pre-order ahead of next year’s changes

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 12 2014 - 6:25 am PT
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It may not yet be practical for micro businesses to fork out for the expensive NFC payment terminals needed for Apple Pay, but Square is ensuring that they will at least be all set for the shift to chip-and-signature cards next year.

As of October 2015, any retailer without a chip-and-signature reader will bear the risk of fraudulent transactions, giving them a strong incentive to update their cardreaders. Fortunately, with Square, it’s not an expensive shift: the iPhone reader will cost just $29 – the cheapest on the market – while the Chip Card Accessory for the Square Stand iPad terminal costs $39.

It will be interesting to see whether Square is later able to develop a low-cost NFC reader to support contactless cards and Apple Pay, but in the meantime both chip-and-signature products are available for pre-order now, with delivery early next year.