Having had my Visa Debit card blocked twice in as many weeks, I’m beginning to question if our current “Plastic” cards are fit for purpose. A somewhat long story follows with a question at the end:

About 2 weeks ago, Skinny decided not to honour my perfectly valid Visa card. I contacted my bank to find out why my card was being rejected. They let me know that some businesses won’t take payment on cards that are approaching expiry and Skinny, apparently, won’t take payment if the card expires in the following month. The card was due to expire in 8 weeks!

I find it ridiculous to reject payments that far from expiry! What would you do if you only had access to one credit card?

I switched cards on the account and in the process the Skinny interface initiated three transactions in quick succession, of which two should not have occurred. Another long story, but it took four hours (yes 4) to sort that out. These transactions triggered my bank to block the newly registered card and warned me via text message. Thankfully, a quick reply text was all that was needed to unblock the card.

My new card arrived a week or two later (they sent it out early) - all good once I used it to make a local purchase via EFTPOS. (This card had the same card number but different CVV)

A little over a week later, I receive a text message from my bank:

We’ve blocked your Visa Debit Card due to some suspicious transactions to Google YouTube Super. If this was you, please reply AUTHORISED. If not, please give us a call on #### or pop into your local branch

These were not my transactions, so a call was made. Apparently, the card number was/had been used on multiple (21) relatively small transactions in Australia. The bank’s only option was to cancel the card and re-issue me a new one. How these transactions were being validated without the CVV (unless they had ‘cracked’ it), I don’t know. These were Google transactions, so I would expect them to have been validated?

Luckily, I was due to travel to town - a little over two hours round trip! So I went into my closest branch and received a new card (with a new card number this time). Another EFTPOS transaction at a local shop and it’s good to go again.

I’ve no doubt there are others who have had similar experiences?

I can’t remember the last time I used cash, though I always carry some. For me, a cashless society mostly works.

The discussion I had with my bank suggests that these type of blocks, due to unauthorised transactions, are on the rise significantly.

So what is the future of “money”? How can transactions be made without inconvenience, but still be secure and safe from unauthorised access?

Really just a topic starter and I felt I needed to tell the story.

  • Ozymati@lemmy.nzEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Cashless requires an effective cash substitute, otherwise people who can’t get bank accounts are not able to use money.

    These people include but are not limited to:

    • newly adult children of “off grid” or religious cult parents who did not register their birth, or whose parents are withholding their vital documents
    • people who have lost all their identification in a disruptive life event such as a house fire, flight from a war zone, unexpected incarceration with subsequent loss of home and belongings, or due to activity resulting from untreated mental health conditions
    • identity theft victims whose electronic reputation has been destroyed
    • victims of bureaucratic error who are officially dead or otherwise tangled in red tape
    • immigrants, migrants, and refugees who are not “legal” and who therefore can’t get the documentation they need (regardless what you think of those who skirt immigration laws, this group includes people brought into a country as children, and human trafficking victims and even if it didn’t the punishment for illegal immigration should be deportation, not starving on the streets)

    Outside of that, while a cash or cash equivalent economy allows for various criminal and black market economy, it also provides a buffer for targeted minorities or other potential victims if there’s an outbreak of fascist and/or genocidal government.

    This is the bulk of why I think we need some form of legal currency that is bearer only.