RFID

Contactless credit and debit cards are only just starting to take off in the USA, but with Apple Pay driving merchants to introduce contactless payment terminals, you are increasingly likely to find that RFID symbol on your bank cards when you receive replacements.

We’ve had contactless cards in Europe for a few years now, and they’re even more convenient than Apple Pay for low-value transactions. For anything up to £30 ($46), you don’t need to verify the transaction in any way: just tap your card against the terminal. You can even do this without taking the card out of your wallet. (Bank guarantees protect you against fraudulent transactions.)

Convenient, that is, unless you have more than one contactless card in your wallet. This can either lead to the wrong card being debited or, more usually, cause the transaction to fail. Truffol has come up with an iPhone 6 wallet case specifically designed to solve this problem … 
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You don’t need me to tell you that being a tech-head can pose a few challenges when travelling. Budget airlines often have ridiculously tight carry-on restrictions, which can make it hard to get all your gadgets into a bag that meets both size and weight limits. And once you arrive at your destination, you also have the worry of ensuring that all your valuable electronics remain safe from thieves.

Scott eVests are designed to solve both problems, allowing you to carry lots of technology on your person, rather than in a bag, with each item securely zipped into an inside pocket. The company’s latest addition to the range – the RFID Travel Vest – adds one further feature: protection of RFID-readable payment cards and passports from portable skimmers … 
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Apple is in the process of updating the iPod touch units used by Apple Store employees as a mobile point-of-sale system to the iPhone 5s, according to sources familiar with the roll out. 

Apple first started using its iPod touch as an “EasyPay” system for employees in its retail stores back in 2009 and currently uses 4th gen iPod touch or previous models for staff. It uses a point-of-sale attachment for the iPod touch that adds a magnetic stripe reader, barcode scanning functionality, and more. It’s not clear the exact motivation behind Apple’s move to the iPhone after long using the iPod touch, but the device does provide a few advantages. 
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