MasterCard, Visa Moving U.S. Credit Cards to 'Chip-and-PIN' by 2013

  Author: Mark Hachman 2/2/12

The addition of the “chip-and-pin” system by MasterCard as caused visa to enable there own advanced system, EMV which is meant to ensure the security of individuals as well as the global interoperability, the ability for different organizations to be able to work together to come to a single agreement.  With this new technology being spread throughout a multitude of countries, there is numerous beneficial outcomes that can come from this agreement that is being made. 

According to the article by Laurie DePrete, “Chip-and-PIN Credit Card Technology Introduced In the US”, this new technology that the US has now accepted will allow individuals to be able to use there cards outside of the country.  This technology has been used in outside countries for the last several years, and the US is finally catching up to date.  

With this new technology applied to there cards, US individuals will be able to use there cards in any countries that accepts this new technologies, including most European countries.  Although this new technology may seem minute, it does cause an enormous impact on many nations.  With the ability to use the cards within many different countries and thus many different currencies, we are allowing for the bondage between locations.  In a way, the ability to be able to communicate and agree on a system in order to ‘unify’ the countries, we are in some ways coming together and creating allies.  

In addition to the agreements being made between these countries, it also allows individuals to be able to travel without the concerns of having to convert American dollars to other currencies and vise versa.  With tourists almost being forced to carry large quantities of money with them while they travel, there is also an increase in crime factor.   Most individuals that are traveling to another country are usually there for business or for pleasure, but regardless of the purpose of their stay they do plan on purchasing items specific to the location that they are in.  The ability to be able to use a credit card as opposed to having to carry around large sums of cash is an advantage in more ways that one.  

HW #8

The article I have chose to read for homework assignment eight was titled “MasterCard, Visa moving U.S. credit cards to chip-and-pin by 2013”. The article was about how the top credit cards companies MasterCard and Visa are switching their United States customers to chip-and PIN technology by April of 2013. MasterCard is working to move the Unites States on the EMV standard to ensure that the payment infrastructure would be in place by April of 2013.  In August of 2011 Visa also put into place its plan to also implement the EMV technology by April of 2013. That this technology means is all credit cards will have the chip-and-pin technology that allows credit card users to simply slide their card with an embedded security chip inside into the reader at a store and enter a four digit pin. This technology is already in use in European countries and Canada. I have recently come into contact with this technology at my work at an Under Armour Outlet store. I had a Canadian customer who when trying to pay at my register kept trying to insert their card with the chip-and-pin technology into our credit card reader and enter their pin. Then I had to explain to the customer we don’t have that technology and the customer told me about how in Canada every place now offers this new technology. This interaction is what drew me into first reading this article. After reading this article I found it very interesting how it talked about credit cards in the future and offering mobile payment options. I feel like the idea of being able to pay for items in the store through a mobile phone would a cool idea in the future. It would speed up the shopping process for the customer and make the shopping experience more impersonal.  Also the idea of the magneprint technology is also very interesting for credit cards in the future. This technology would offer a unique, one of a kind identity to a magnet-striped cards based on the layout of its atoms. Both these technologies are very interesting and are going to change the way we shop with credit cards in the future. 

RFID Technology

Samantha Claridge

April 5, 2012

Homework #8

RFID: A Prescription for Healthcare Asset Tracking

Ben Neupert on Tue, Feb 28, 2012

Business Week Article

This article released by Business Week discusses the new up and coming topic of RFID Technology, after the last few classes I would consider myself very knowledgeable on this topic. The article goes into what FRID technology is, they say that “Healthcare is one of the industries most under siege by this surge in technology; hospitals and other medical facilities across the world are using advances such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to improve patient security.” The article is arguing the point that RFID technology could be used in Hospitals and patient care.

I completely agree with this article, I think that using the technology on Medical Bracelets, and blood banks will not only save time but also create a much more intelligent and secure system. During our debate in class we discussed both sides of this topic, and although there are many ideas and controversies over it, in the end I think it is a brilliant idea. Being able to be safer, and have better security is never a bad thing. If this system was put into place, later on maybe the world will see that it is OK if it expands into other areas, and that it will not “take over the world” or “make the world lazy.”  The technology is already making life for business owners easier, Wal-Mart, Target and many other large businesses have used this technology for a long time now, and we as customers have noticed a difference. Imagine the speed of Wal-Mart, in the ER, all of that paperwork would be avoidable and you could get the care you needed faster. In the end, this technology has more good than bad. 

The article I am going to talk to you about today is an article on this guy his name his is Holger Hermanns  and in this article it talks about how he is coming up with this new type of system for breaking and it is a form of wireless braking that right now is on a prototype for bike but he hopes to eventually put into production of bikes but also advance it to the point where they can then use it on trains and cars. The system they use right now on the bikes is powered by a battery and it uses sensors on the pedal and the handlebar to stop by applying pressure on a button on the handlebar and pedaling backwards on the pedals and the amount of pressure you apply to those areas is how much you are going to stop. 

wireless braking

My reaction to this article is that I think this is a very cool idea to use in the innovation of breaking technology for the cycling community because all throughout the history of bikes they have always had those hard metal brake lines and they always use to break and then you would have to buy new ones and that would cost a lot of money for people but now with this new technology it makes biking so much easier because now all you have to worry about is the battery running out of juice and that is a lot cheaper than having to keep buying those lines like I said before. I would also have to agree with him I think that it could also lead to a new way for trains and other vehicles to stop as well because “ a good wireless system will keep the trains moving better. Currently, tracks have systems that count the number of axles that travel over them. One section of track counts up, another count down. When the total zeroes out, the system decides it's safe for another train to come through”. So as you can see I would have to agree with this article and say that this could be the new future of braking 

Chips anyone?

                                           Hw 8                                          Morgan Billings

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2399772,00.asp

MasterCard, Visa Moving U.S. Credit Cards to 'Chip-and-PIN' by 2013

  Author: Mark Hachman 2/2/12

MasterCard followed Visa's lead this week, stating that it too intends to move U.S. consumers onto so-called chip-and-PIN technology by April 2013. This means every time you make a credit card payment the machine reads a chip built in to the card and then prompts you to type down your 4 digit security pin number. I believe this new security is a good idea in many ways. First, if your card got stolen right away and you don’t realize that it was gone for a couple hours the person who stole it could go on a spending spree until you got cut off. With the four digit pin number this will prevent someone from doing this and causing you a lot of stress. Second, people in other countries are already using this and it is working quite well. This chip also would make buying things when traveling. “MasterCard, like Visa, also said that it is preparing for a world where consumers will pay in stores, online, and via mobile devices. However, the company did not promote a wireless technology, such as Visa's endorsement of near-field technology used by Google Wallet.” Google wallet is just like a credit card but you pay with your mobile device. For example if you go to the grocery store and your checking out instead of swiping your card you launch the app and hold the phone about the credit card reader. Just like the card you type down your security pin number and then you are on your way. Also with the app are all of your transactions which you can actually print out for your own records. Some people believe these technological ways of buying things is wrong and actually causes an even more security problem. The threat are criminals who hack computers stealing information and pin numbers and online shop for themselves sending the merchandise to addresses like P.O boxes and then running. I believe this is a huge problem because more and more people are hacking everyday like the hack group anonymous. The only way this will work is if our internet security steps up and people can safely use these neat ways of purchasing products. 

Homework #8

Wal-Mart Radio Tags to Track Clothing

I read the article Wal-Mart to put Radio Tags on Clothes and I think it is like the debate we had in class the other day.  Even though the argument was lost to the Pro team, I agree with the Con team one hundred percent.  I do not want people being able to track what I am buying and I feel as though Wal-mart doing this is making us one step closer to being tracked.  This tracker will be able to track the article of clothes after it has left the store and I think that is so wrong.  They should stop the tracker once the pants are purchased, if they are sent back to the manufacturer they don’t need to know that its not there fault it is the manufacturer.  Wal-Mart is a distributor not a manufacturer, they shouldn’t be worrying about what is happening after a product has left their store.  I think this again is a “big brother” issue and it is so messed up that they want to track there clothes, I get that it will cut the amount of stuff that is stolen but it is still wrong to track it after it leaves the store. 

I feel as though if this was a high end store that was selling very expensive and good quality clothes and merchandise then it should be tracked but it is Wal-Mart brand clothing that could rip after a few wears.  Its not the best quality and doesn’t need to be tracked.  I feel as though this is just a government system that is being tested on clothes as opposed to people.

I hope my feelings do not offend anyone I just think what this is doing is extremely wrong and corrupt.  Wal-mart is a very popular chain but tracking their clothes is going to make people feel like they are being watched while buying the clothes and could potentially effect the amount of clothes sold.

Personally I think this will effect Wal-Marts business and I think it is a terrible idea, they should think twice before putting this into effect.

Homework 8

Wal-Mart Radio Tags to Track Clothing

http://bx.businessweek.com/rfid/view?url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704421304575383213061198090.html

Wal-Mart Stores plan to install electronic ID tags to track jeans and underwear. The company believes it will better controls inventory but customer are concerned about privacy issues. Starting next month, the retailer will place removable "smart tags" on certain garments that can be read by a hand-held scanner. Workers will be able to quickly learn which size of the particular clothing is missing, with the idea of ensuring shelves are constantly stocked and will be watched closely. If the idea is successful, the radio-frequency ID tags will be installed on other products at Wal-Mart's in more than 3,750 U.S. stores. "This ability to wave the wand and have a sense of all the products that are on the floor or in the back room in seconds is something that we feel can really transform our business," said Raul Vazquez,

The biggest issue that arises is the concerns about privacy. The tags are trackable but while they can be removed but they cannot be turned off. This leaves questions like what if criminals drive by customer’s homes and check their garbage’s to find what they have recently bought.

There are ways to get around this issue such as putting the trackers on removable tags instead of imbedding them in the items themselves. This will reinsure customers that there movements are not being tracked.

While people may be skeptical about this idea I can understand from a business standpoint why the idea is being pushed so much. There are a few other companies that have installed similar ideas and it has only helped the company. The fact that Wal-Mart is a trustworthy company and already has a large customer base I believe this will improve their company greatly. I think some people will be skeptical about buying Wal-Mart products once the idea is installed but the pros will definitely outweigh the cons. There are several ways to make customers feel more comfortable about the tags, such as the fact that they are not going to be imbedded into the items.