Blink Goes Your Credit

A number of credit card companies have started embedding RFID (radio frequency) chips in credit cards so they can be read over the air without having to swipe the cards at a terminal. The advantage to these credit card companies is that paying with a credit card becomes faster.

The risk to individuals is that your private information usually retained on the card may now be transmitted over the air and readable by someone with the right technology. Some banks encrypt the data. Some don't. You can read more about the risk here and here. Some people like the technology. Some don't. I don't want it in my credit card.

Citibank makes RFID an option for its customers. You have to specifically request the technology if you are comfortable with it.

What does Chase bank do with it's Blink branded RFID chip? It ships it without your request when your card is up for renewal. Chase includes a pamphlet that says the card now has 'blink!'. I bet that many Chase customers don't know they have Blink and don't know what it does.

Would Chase make a customer whole if someone stole their id off a Blink card and used their credit? I'm not waiting to find out.

If Chase doesn't replace my credit card with a non-Blink version, I'll resort to a drill or punch press to get that chip out. Click on the image below for a video on how one guy removed his RFID chip from his credit card.



Chase is a company acting badly for assuming I want technology in my wallet that is broadcasting my credit card information.