Researchers are working on an on/off switch for the next generation of credit cards. No, not to stop you from spending income you shouldn’t, but tohelp safeguard you from theft and fraud.
Credit cards are moving away from magnetic strips to far more modern, no-contact technologies. Now, with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips or close to-field communication (NFC) cards, you can just wave your credit card in front of a reader to swiftly spend for a cup of joe.
Nonetheless, this ease could open up the doors for a new type of criminal. In theory, shady characters with portable scanners can read the info off your RFID card by obtaining close sufficient to so that your card is in their reader’s electromagnetic field. This type of theft hasn’t taken off but, due to clunky technology and minimal monetary acquire (most RFID and NFC cards have low spending caps), but an on/off trick could be a wise preventative step.
Researchers at the Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering are operating on a straightforward new technologies that would call for consumers to spot their finger on the card to turn it “on” when they pay. When you spot your finger on a precise spot on the card, say a logo or icon, it would full a circuit and enable readers to charge the card. If the circuit isn’t full, the card’s NFC or RFID technologies would be disabled and not work.
“Our new style integrates an antenna and other electrical circuitry that can be interrupted by a straightforward switch, like turning off the lights in the house or office,” explains professor Marlin Mickle in a statement. “The RFID or NFC credit card is disabled if left in a pocket or lying on a surface and unreadable by thieves employing portable scanners.”
The extra step would take extremely small time for the consumer, and researchers think the technologies would be fairly effortless and affordable for credit card organizations to adopt. They recently filed a patent application for the on/off card technology.
Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat 
