I am well versed with a wave card. Having experienced its convenience as my Train boarding pass in Hong Kong & Singapore, I like it.
Just put the card in my handbag & wave the entire bag over the reader & you are through - unless it’s my backpack - which is another story. All this without taking out the pesky thing & risk losing it. So cool mah!
But that’s for a Train Ride, and it’s prepaid to a certain value by me.
I won’t lose more money than what is prepaid if someone filches my bag. Like most sane people, I wouldn’t top that card up to any amount more than I can risk losing it.
The other day I realized that some banks including CIMB & Maybank has introduced the Wave Card - same concept as the Train card.
For purchases under RM150, you can just pay for your purchases by waving the card onto a reader.
Makes your purchase faster - for the cashier, you (if you are in a hurry) & the people lining up behind you in an equal hurry.
Makes you spend more. It takes away your psychological awareness of having to physically sign & acknowledge you are (AGAIN!) spending money. Just a little money….at a time. So psychologically speaking, we lose count more if we waved seamlessly rather than acknowledge with our own signature our dirty little spending habits.
As for Me, I ABSOLUTElY REJECT this concept & I strongly advise you too not to let anyone sell you this story.
In fact if a cashier waved your card, IMMEDIATELY demand for a cancellation & demand for the regular credit card receipt to sign.
Why? Here’s some Important reasons why
1. The holder of the credit card must wave the card themselves & NOT the cashier. But this is not always the case; as I experienced unknowingly. The cashier waved it for me.
Now why should you wave your own card? Ask yourself. Who’s the holder of the card. You or the cashier?
When (s)he waves your card, you get a receipt. Ok. But if you are not looking carefully, she can wave it a few times, & hand you only one receipt. Is there a beep? Didn’t hear it amidst all that noise generated in a store? Too bad.
At any given time, when I am paying, I am in my usual hurry (Gawd knows why but I always am!) & we hardly note in our consciousness if we have signed … or not? Or maybe you did?
2. Should you not be acknowledging your own Debt or any credit extended to you by priviledge of using the Bank’s Credit Card?
Consumers should know the difference between a prepaid & a Credit & Prepaid card
This is why when you hand over a credit card, as the holder of the card, you must & have to acknowledge a debt or credit has been transacted in your name.
The credit card is NOT a prepayment you made. Like my train card story. In Europe you would need to key in your PIN when they wave your card. This means that if you have given someone your card to use, then you have also given them your PIN ie permission to spend.
3. Who’s really using your card?
At least in the good old pre-wave days, somebody had to forge year signature, or work a little harder when they want to use your card without permission.
With the wave, it has become much more convenient for a thief to run up a coupla purchases before you can deactivate it. No need to forge a signature mah!
So I want ALL of you to take this blog & circulate it.
The more people hear about it,the more the buck passes from the consumers back to the banks - as it should be.
After all, aren’t they the specialists at what they do best & aren’t we the ones who will get more & more sucked into a credit pitfall?
