That might be the deal-breaker here. People with wallets sit on their credit cards daily. I've split the plastic on mine a few times, even though I've gotten into the habit of taking my wallet out when I sit down.
Credit card purchase authorization over SMS might be more sturdy, although that has its own security considerations (I think this exists somewhere already though).
> How is this supposed to work? They send you a text, and you reply to confirm? The inability to make purchases without a signal seems fatal.
Yes, that sounds about right. You have a mobile number associated with your account, and your bank texts you when you make a purchase. I don't think it would be required that you confirm every purchase - it would be more of a notification system. You could require it, but there's a balance of convenience and security that people are already used to.
As for not being able to purchase without a signal, I posit that in the case where you need to authorize purchases, it has the same limitations as your credit-card-communication concept :)
> As for not being able to purchase without a signal, I posit that in the case where you need to authorize purchases, it has the same limitations as your credit-card-communication concept :)
No, see that's the thing. With the right cryptography, the credit card itself can compute an authorization code. There's no need for the credit card to contact the credit card company. It's authorization from the consumer (by way of a button they press on the card), not from the card company, that is imporant.
Comments
> slightly less durable
That might be the deal-breaker here. People with wallets sit on their credit cards daily. I've split the plastic on mine a few times, even though I've gotten into the habit of taking my wallet out when I sit down.
Credit card purchase authorization over SMS might be more sturdy, although that has its own security considerations (I think this exists somewhere already though).
> That might be the deal-breaker here.
I would think it's surmountable, but point taken.
>Credit card purchase authorization over SMS might be more sturdy
How is this supposed to work? They send you a text, and you reply to confirm? The inability to make purchases without a signal seems fatal.
Thanks for the feedback.
> How is this supposed to work? They send you a text, and you reply to confirm? The inability to make purchases without a signal seems fatal.
Yes, that sounds about right. You have a mobile number associated with your account, and your bank texts you when you make a purchase. I don't think it would be required that you confirm every purchase - it would be more of a notification system. You could require it, but there's a balance of convenience and security that people are already used to.
As for not being able to purchase without a signal, I posit that in the case where you need to authorize purchases, it has the same limitations as your credit-card-communication concept :)
> As for not being able to purchase without a signal, I posit that in the case where you need to authorize purchases, it has the same limitations as your credit-card-communication concept :)
No, see that's the thing. With the right cryptography, the credit card itself can compute an authorization code. There's no need for the credit card to contact the credit card company. It's authorization from the consumer (by way of a button they press on the card), not from the card company, that is imporant.