Re:Card.io - fast and easy mobile credit card scanning
by bonzoesc on Friday June 24, 2011 @01:35PM
(#2693060)
Magnetic credit card readers are cheap; look at how much Square charges.
The fraud prevention mechanism for magnetic cards is mostly reactive and doesn't require "passphrases" or "cryptographically signing," which is a big usability win.
Since issuers are on the hook for unauthorized charges, and generally make money from transaction fees, it's in their best interest to find a good compromise between fraud protection and usability. Adding consumer software and a wide variety of commoditized portable computing devices into the mix doesn't seem worth the cost.
The fraud prevention mechanism for magnetic cards is mostly reactive and doesn't require "passphrases" or "cryptographically signing," which is a big usability win.
Since issuers are on the hook for unauthorized charges, and generally make money from transaction fees, it's in their best interest to find a good compromise between fraud protection and usability. Adding consumer software and a wide variety of commoditized portable computing devices into the mix doesn't seem worth the cost.