FYOI, I got a new bank card with my Taiwanese bank account.(ICBC) It has a chip on it similar to the one on a telephone sim card. The new card enables the account holder to do purchases at participating stores like 7-11, Costco, Dollars, etc.
Here’s the scary thing: No pin number!? You just hand in the card and they give you a receit, that’s it…Lose your card and anyone can use it.
How retarded is that or am I missing something here? I saw it happen again today, someone paid for something at 7-11, the clerk swiped the card, no pin, no signature, nothing. :loco:
I complained about that at my branch. They made me sign a form and they disabled that option on my card. My card is now only working in atm machines and I need my pin(pins) to use it. Definetly safer that way.
Don’t you have to put money on that chip in order for it to work? If you don’t put money on it, then the chip is useless if you lose your card. So no worries…
I think you don’t need a PIN when you use the bank card in shops, because the shopkeeper is obliged to check your ID (which they might not do when you look like a nice person and the amount is small).
That’s how it works where I come from, I don’t know about Taiwan.
I’m sure. It was a bank card with the flashy dime-size gold chip on the front and a traditionnal black stripe on the back.
[quote=“Rascal”]You mean there is no PIN at all or you don’t need a PIN when you make a purchase?[/quote] Both annoying and retarded actually.
Annoying because you actually have two pins now. One for the black stripe and one for the chip. The stripe’s is 4 digits and the chip’s is composed of 6 digits. :s
Retarded because pins are required to withraw cash through atm machines but not for purchases in stores. 7-11 is nothing…Some stores have pretty expensive items.
Back home we used to have those pin-code-things in stores too. People complained because you don’t really want to enter your pin when there’s a queue of unknown people standing right next to you. It’s safer to flash your ID and prove that you’re the person whose name is on the card. However, the signatures are always required.
I think these new devices are fantastic. Every one of you in Taipei has an EZ Card, I’d wager. There’s at least a few hundred NT stored on that. I’d love to see the EZ system applied to convenience stores and other small dollar points of purchase. You lose the card, you lose a few bucks.
But when’s the last time you lost your EZ card?
And for that matter, if you do lose your wallet, you’ve probably got bigger things to worry about (like canceling your credit cards) than the money you pre-paid on a card.
So I say down with loose change! On with the convenience!
[quote=“Jefferson”]I think these new devices are fantastic. Every one of you in Taipei has an EZ Card, I’d wager. There’s at least a few hundred NT stored on that. I’d love to see the EZ system applied to convenience stores and other small dollar points of purchase. You lose the card, you lose a few bucks.
But when’s the last time you lost your EZ card?
And for that matter, if you do lose your wallet, you’ve probably got bigger things to worry about (like canceling your credit cards) than the money you pre-paid on a card.
So I say down with loose change! On with the convenience! [/quote]
:bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo:
Now if they could just integrate my ARC, driving licence, and electronic door key into the one piece of plastic I would be all set.
[quote=“Loretta”][quote=“Jefferson”]I think these new devices are fantastic. Every one of you in Taipei has an EZ Card, I’d wager. There’s at least a few hundred NT stored on that. I’d love to see the EZ system applied to convenience stores and other small dollar points of purchase. You lose the card, you lose a few bucks.
But when’s the last time you lost your EZ card?
And for that matter, if you do lose your wallet, you’ve probably got bigger things to worry about (like canceling your credit cards) than the money you pre-paid on a card.
So I say down with loose change! On with the convenience! [/quote]
:bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo:
Now if they could just integrate my ARC, driving licence, and electronic door key into the one piece of plastic I would be all set.[/quote]
Definitely… now that I am back in NZ its great to not have the mountains of loose change floating around that I had in Taiwan… Good old 1 NT collection… the only thing it was good for was poker nights…
Just paying with EFTPOS makes things so much easier…
But I would like to have a pin number for purchases…
Strangely, my new ATM card I had prior to leaving in Taiwan required 6 digits when withdrawing money from the ATM… It had a gold chip on it but I never used it… It also had a Visa symbol on it which apparently did nothing but advertise a credit card I was unable to have (while in Taiwan…)