Bank cards: where have all the numbers gone? | Hacker News Reader

Bank cards: where have all the numbers gone?

theguardian.com

11 pointsedward14 comments

Putting the numbers on the back of the card doesn’t seem like a good security measure, because now they are on the same side as the CCV ‘security number’.

I thought the point of that was for the two numbers to be on opposite sides so you couldn’t just snap a photo and get all the details.

The details on the front are available on the back too. I'll let you have a look at the back of a card to figure it out.

As always, the British are doing something to be 'different'

I have no experience with British cards, but my US credit card has both the number and CVV code on the back of the card.

Yep, it's not just the Brits it seems.

The original idea probably was to not be able to take a photo of all info in one go.

The change is probably so that you're able to have your phone import all info in one photo. Just guessing.

In the vast majority of fraud situations, the fraudster never sees the card because these attacks are often carried out online.

There are situations where a dishonest worker/business owner will harvest credit card numbers but you are correct in that this represents a very small percentage of card fraud cases.

Don't get me started on the websites that don't let you paste in a card number.

My app gives me my card number, why won't you let me paste it? Instead I have to toggle back and forth, sometimes causing the page to refresh and I lose everything typed in. If you do this and wonder why I went back to Amazon to buy my crap then you need lessons in customer service.

On a few of my cards I now write across the top what account it is, as so many cards are unidentifiable at a glance in my wallet.

Seems like a failure in design.

I received my latest card with all of the numbers on the back

I thought the point in having the number and CCV on separate sides was so that someone who saw one side would never get all of the information

My card at Mitsui-Suitomo doesn't even have the numbers on the back now, they're only accessible via the app.

I have multiple cards from NatWest. Some for different businesses, some personal. They all look the same now and don't even have the business name on them. This is not going to end well.

How hard is it for you to put a sticker on them, color code them with a posca pen or sharpie something on them?

Not a lot of people have tons of cards AND need to carry all of them 24x7. Besides having multiple cards from the same bank do not means they have to be the same colors/design. I have 3 from a unique bank and all are different. Banks keep changing the design of their cards and it is rare to get all your cards issued at the same moment.

I added company initials at the back of each. I also don't carry them with me, but when I need one it's still something i need to triple check that I'm indeed using the right card for the right company, or risk the wrath of my accountant.

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