New credit card technology that will change the way you pay

Cash may be king right now, but credit cards are about to overthrow the throne. According to information from the most recent US Census Bureau, nearly 200 million American adults have a credit card, charge card, or a combination of the two..

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But credit cards have their flaws, especially around security. Credit card fraud is the # 1 type of identity theft, with millions of Americans scammed every year. To solve this problem, credit card companies are coming up with new technologies to keep consumers safe and, of course, to make it easier for them to spend.

To learn about the latest emerging trends in credit cards, GOBankingRates consulted with experts in the field. Here is an overview of the new innovations in the world of credit cards.

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Contactless credit card payments

Credit cards that allow contactless payment date back more than a decade to the United States, but they have been slow to gain traction. The pandemic has helped accelerate the adoption of this technology by consumers, with total use of contactless payments increasing by 150% in the United States alone between March 2019 and June 2020.

We can expect this trend to evolve and become even more popular.

“According to a Raydiant survey, more than 50% of US buyers now use contactless payments, and that number is expected to increase significantly in the near future,” said John Marsano, CEO and President of Advanced Legacy. “People prefer contactless payments because of the convenience of the process. “

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Virtual credit cards

“Many large companies have gone so far as to introduce their own virtual credit cards to increase their interaction with customers,” said Dror Zaifman, director of digital marketing at iCASH. “This year, PayPal introduced its own branded virtual credit cards. This was first introduced by Apple Pay, which launched virtual credit cards in 2019. The number has grown to around 500 million users in 2021. ”

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Multifactor verification

“Magnetic tapes, banking systems and chip systems are all susceptible to being abused by hackers,” said Swati Chalumuri, founder of HearMeFolks“It has seen the rise of more tamper-proof systems like RFID, but the battle is not over yet. To keep pace with the scammers, credit card issuers are ready to increase the number of multi-factor IDs for different transactions. This could mean spending an extra second at the ATM or point of sale. Ultimately, however, cases of electronic money loss are expected to decrease in the last quarter of 2021. “

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Biometric cards

“With more and more buyers using contactless methods, as well as an increase in online shopping, we can probably expect to see this technology develop, with greater acceptance in the near future,” said Nathan Grant, Senior Credit Industry Analyst at Credit card insider. “The next evolution in this level of personal security could be biometric cards that read your fingerprints, but that remains to be seen.

“Currently, many smartphones give you the option of requiring biometric fingerprint identification to unlock devices when using mobile payment apps,” Grant continued. “So we can already see this idea come to fruition.”

Cryptocurrency wallets

“Products such as Arculus integrate self-service cryptocurrency wallets where users can securely store the private keys of their cryptocurrency, ”said J.ohn Small, CFO of Roman DBDR. “Self-service wallets offer significant benefits to cryptocurrency holders. Having your own keys means users are not susceptible to centralized exchange hacks or compromised accounts. Additionally, having their own keys allows users to participate in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) community where they can use their crypto for digital services and experiences across the globe.

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FIDO technology (Fast ID online)

“FIDO works by creating a unique set of keys that identifies a user,” Small said. “By securely storing this key on a credit card, users can digitally unlock and sign every event the card interacts with. “

Linking a customer account number to a strong FIDO authentication ID can also potentially solve broader issues in the credit card space such as authentication, account login and secure account recovery, Small said. .

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Opportunities for the underbanked

“The digitization of credit cards and credit in general means that we will start to see new solutions for the underbanked or those with terrible credit histories / no credit history,” said Bruce Garner, co-founder of Card curator. “All we have to do is look at the mobile banking revolution that has already taken place across Africa with companies like Jumo or here in the United States with companies like Brigitte.

New rewards and incentives

“As new entrants and competition increase in the credit card space, I expect to see new rewards and incentives associated with both existing credit cards, but especially new cards. as Bilt, ”Garner said. “It’s the first card to reward when paying your rent with a credit card.”

Related: How do “buy now, pay later” apps compare to credit cards?

Portable payment devices

The smartwatch has allowed us to pay with wearable technology, and soon we’ll likely be paying with more of our clothes and accessories.

“Companies are building contactless payment capabilities into almost everything we wear, including shirts, bracelets, watches and rings,” said David Shipper, Senior Research Analyst at Aite Group. “Portable payment devices are great because they can always be available when it’s time to make a payment. For example, an engagement ring that doubles as a form of payment can be the deciding factor for someone to say “yes” … especially if it’s preloaded with some spending money. “

See: 10 credit cards to consider for travel rewards

Cards with dynamic CVV

“The three-digit number on the back of your card is a security feature, but it can be stolen when you enter it on a website,” Shipper said. “Cards with a dynamic CVV code change periodically so the number won’t work after a while. This can drastically reduce card fraud.

Connected car payments

“Payments are being integrated into more and more on-board systems,” said Shipper. “Over time, these systems will automatically pay for things like tolls, parking, gas, and so on. And theoretically, an autonomous car could have its own bank account, which could be used when it goes to the dealership for maintenance, or to accept payments as an unmanned taxi.

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Pay by thought

One possible feature in the future that sounds like something out of a science fiction novel is the ability to pay by thought – or brainwaves.

“It’s still not available, but it could be possible with something like a pair of smart glasses that can detect brainwave activity,” Shipper said. “If you think waving your phone is an easy way to pay, just imagine you think ‘yes’, and the payment is over. ”

Payment implants

Another innovation that seems to have been inspired by a script by Philip K. Dick: payment implants.

“It’s possible to convert your contactless card into an implant that you can insert under your skin to make contactless payments,” Shipper said. “While this may sound strange and frightening to some, we conducted a study and found that approximately 41% of consumers in the United States are somewhat, very, or extremely interested in an implanted payment device.”

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Last updated: October 6, 2021