Hacker News Reader

Comment by MrDosu | Hacker News Reader

The entire cellphone based NFC payment system is retarded. Money needs to be free from electricity and endure the elements.

I don't get it why they are not using proven NFC payment card systems like in japan...

View on HN

As far as I can tell, they work exactly the same way. I was able to use my iPhone 6 at an NFC terminal (built for MasterCard PayPass/VISA PayWave) at Dublin Airport where nobody had ever used it before in that fashion.

I suspect it's the same as well. I think CurrentC wanted to stop Apple Pay and the rest were just collateral damage.

Which is stupid. Apple Pay is the most available way to pay for something that is as secure as chip & pin in the USA.

I have a feeling the MCX participants and card issuers are going to come to an impasse over their respective agreements. All the issuers have to do is require that terminals capable of NFC (for the purpose of accepting PayPass/PayWave) not have the functionality disabled. This will put the merchants in a bind and force them either to replace the terminals altogether, or re-enable NFC.

So what is the benefit of having it on a breakable heavy device with limited battery life?

It doesnt sound very enticing to me that I can't pay that taxi when it's raining because my battery ran out.

Security and convenience; it's been covered ad nauseam elsewhere. And you can always use the plastic as a backup if you like.

How do you use "proven NFC payment card systems" without electricity? This isn't a sarcastic question, I'm genuinely curious.

Many credit cards have an NFC chip built in that is powered by the payment device's RF signal. Your credit card does not need a battery.

"Money needs to be free from electricity and endure the elements."

He's talking about the consumer side, not the merchant side.

Exactly :D

You don't get why they're not using the system you just called "retarded"? You'll forgive me if I'm a bit confused.

Nah i mean in Japan i buy a credit card sized card. It is waterproof and I don't need to take care of it in any way. It has no battery, it does not stop working when dropped. It can stay in my wallet (just swipe the wallet) and you can buy small stuff with it (public transportation, corner store, supermarket, electronics store etc...).

I called it retarded to put the exact same technology into something that is heavier and prone to more defects.

The downvotes are plain silly because putting the same tech into a cellphone, while technically feasible, is inferior to those cards in (almost) every way. The only benefit is recharging over air or direct debit from your bank account. They should rather allow me to charge the card itself with the cellphones NFC.

Thanks for the clarification. I swear I read it twice trying to make sense of it. :-) I hear what you're saying, but we're unlikely to get that in the U. S. Hell, just getting chip-and-PIN has been moving along with all of the gracefulness and agility of a glacier.

Well, actual (paper) money doesn't endure the elements that much either...

Well, we can put some Euros in the washing machine alongside your cell. I can tell you from personal experience all the Euros get is clean.

Now try that with dollars.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com