‘Wi-Fi’ Credit or Debit Card: Do you also have a credit or debit card with ‘Wi-Fi’, through which payment is made without entering a PIN? Know its advantages and disadvantages

Alert: In this payment can be done only by touching the card with POS machine. No PIN or OTP is required. In such a situation, anyone can easily pay with your card.

Contactless Debit-Credit Card: You must have heard about contactless debit cards or contactless credit cards, which make contactless payments. That is, without swapping in the machine and without entering the PIN, the payment is done. You may also have a credit or debit card called a Wi-Fi enabled card.

If you haven’t noticed, take it out of your purse and check that your credit and debit cards will have a symbol that looks exactly like the symbol of Wi-Fi, then understand that you have a contactless card. It also has its advantages, but if it is not taken care of, then it can also have some disadvantages. Before knowing the advantages and disadvantages, let us know how it works..

How Wi-Fi Enabled Card Works?

Wi-Fi enabled credit-debit cards, also known as contactless cards, can be used to make transactions of up to Rs 5,000 from a POS machine without using a PIN. The range of such cards is 4 cm and only one transaction can be done at a time.

Wi-Fi credit-debit card does not mean that it works through Wi-Fi. Actually such cards work on NFC i.e. Near Field Communication and RFID i.e. Radio Frequency Identification Technology.

Chip and metal antenna

Such cards have a chip that is attached to a very thin metal antenna. Through this antenna, the POS machine gets a signal and this antenna gets electricity from the POS machine through the radio frequency field. Transactions take place only through this technique. This payment technology is growing rapidly in developed countries. In Australia, Canada, the UK and France, one in four cards is contactless. Now the new cards that are coming in India are contactless cards.

What are the benefits of contactless cards?

• The payment takes no time at all. Payment is done without swiping the card.
• There is no need to give your debit or credit card to anyone.
• Password punch-in is not required for small transactions.
• With this, a digital list of expenses is prepared.
• This feature can be used only in payment below 20 thousand.
• It is also not necessary to enter a PIN for transactions up to Rs 5000.

This card has many dangers too

If you have a Wi-Fi credit-debit card in your pocket, then fraudsters can withdraw money by touching the POS machine in your pocket. According to the report of our affiliate website Money 9, in the year 2016, a photo went viral in which a thief was seen standing in the train with a POS machine in the middle of the crowd.

Now since it can be paid only by touching the card from the POS machine. No PIN is required. In such a situation, anyone can easily pay with your card. It does not even require OTP. RBI had fixed the limit of payment through this card at Rs 2,000, which has been increased to Rs 5000. For payments above this, it is necessary to enter the PIN.

It is necessary to take these precautions

• Know which card to take while applying.
• Do not forget to take the bill while shopping.
• Check that the cashier has filled the amount for payment.
• If you have more cards then decide from whom to pay.
• Do not hand over the card to the shopkeeper while making payment in a hotel or shop.
• Swap the card in front of you and check the message coming after the transaction at the same time.