FROM CONTACTLESS TO SENSELESS

Recently I happened to see the VISA contactless card promo during the IPL. A question came to my mind - Do we really need a contactless card? What convenience does it bring apart from speed while checking out? That convenience comes with many strings attached viz security and safety.

In a ecosystem that is plagued with new card related frauds daily which even the current issuers have not been able to fool proof as yet this card adds a new hazard for its owner. It can be tapped by anyone who lands his hands upon it and can use it for doing a transaction of upto Rs 2000. What the issuer is trying to tell us is that if you want speed and convenience be ready to expose yourself to a potential 2k hit via card fraud. The interesting part is that the card holder does not get to know he has been debited till all the action is over. There were even a few clips in circulation on social media recently that showed how easily the card can get tapped even when it is inside your hip pocket and you are happily un aware you have got 2k ‘ed!!

As a nation that already has a huge reluctance and stigma for card acceptance(we all know how many RuPay cards issued with the JD accounts are actually being used)a card that further adds to your exposure(the way I see it)is only one more step to further scare the Indian card/potential user.

As a friend rightly summed this up – “Things are moving really fast from paperless to cashless to contactless to presenceless to senseless!!” Are these the signs of real ‘new’ prosperity?!