The continual progression of technology has led to a vast change in many areas. From the way people interact with the world around them, to their way of interacting with each other, the means and ways are constantly evolving. One of those things that have undergone a sea change already and is still in the process of evolving is the way people spend their money.
Not only are people becoming more inclined towards online payments, but the modes that they use for such payments are also changing. The humble credit card, which has been one of the main ways of paying the bills, has also changed a lot at present with many more modifications and advancements underway. Everyone knows how credit cards work, and, the question that arises now is how they will work in the future.
The advent of the smart cards
In terms of the future of the credit cards, some of the top companies have already come up with the smart cards: the next generation of credit cards. A smart card is generally any kind of card that has an inbuilt microprocessor. These cards are slated to dominate, and even replace the traditional credit cards that come with the magnetic strip. It is worth mentioning in this regard that these kinds of cards are already leading the market in Europe. In the United States of America, however, these cards are rather new and not really the ideal choice of the users.
In terms of usage, the credit cards generally work by the insertion of the cards in the reader, instead of swiping like you used to do with the magnetic strip cards and leaving it there for some time. Completing the transaction will require you to give your signature or PIN.
The change has resulted from the fact that it is way safer to use credit cards with microprocessors than a magnetic strip. The breach of privacy that has been one of the major threats of using credit cards can be avoided to a great extent with the use of the smart cards because the information on these cards is more difficult to steal.
Contactless and contact credit cards
There are two main kinds of credit cards available right now, contactless and contact cards. The contact cards are the ones that are in use commonly. These are the cards that you insert in the card reader and leave there for a few minutes and then enter your pin.
The contactless cards are the ones that are true to their names. You do not need to insert the card in the reader, and rather, wave it before the reader, or you need to hold it over the card reader for it to get the information that you need from the card. The contactless cards are mostly in use for the ID cards at present, but you can hope to see this innovation in the credit cards as well in the future. Steps like asking the PIN number will be enforced to ensure the security of such transactions.
The future of using no cards at all
The future of the credit cards might lie in using no cards at all. Every day, the world is inching closer to a scenario where plastic cards will become redundant, and the use of digital wallets is on the rise. Services like Apple Pay and Google Wallet are increasingly gaining preference from the customers. The convenience of simply tapping a few buttons and securing the payment makes people give these apps preference over credit cards.
In fact, in the future some of the stores might not have any register, and rather, use sensors to detect the items present in your cart and charge automatically according to that, thus, having no need for registers at all. The future is actually nearer than you think, as, the Amazon Go stores have already done away with cash registers and cashiers. The stores are present in Seattle and use the app for charging the customers.
