Updated December 6, 2013

Future of Credit Cards

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Technology advances have prepped credit cards for easier use and tighter security. It's now up to consumers to make the changes widespread.

It’s now possible to make a credit card purchase without ever taking the card out of your wallet. If you didn’t know that, then you’re not alone, which is why CreditDonkey put together this infographic introducing consumers to the next generation of “smart cards.”

Millions of credit cards are already equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips and smartphones with NFC, but many cardholders don’t know it. NFC technology lets people charge the cards without physically swiping them or even pulling them out of their pockets. However, until consumers learn more about NFC, RFID and other advances in this industry and realize the benefits, merchants are unlikely to promote the changes.

While traditional credit cards work by storing user information on a magnetic stripe, RFID (which comes standard on most new cards) stores information about the card and its owner in a small microchip.

NFC chips can transmit information when placed a few inches of an external reader. Because some modern smartphones are equipped with passive NFC chips, the phones can be used as mobile credit cards.

The Future of Credit Cards puts the critical information about the advances of credit card technology in one place. The observations include:

  • How many NFC-equipped phones and NFC point-of-sale terminals were sold in 2011.

  • The percentage of American smartphone owners who are willing to use their phones as mobile wallets (hint: it’s in the majority).

  • The projected increase of mobile payment transactions by 2015.

(Graphic Design by Santosh; Editing by Maria)

Astrid Martinez is a contributing features writer at CreditDonkey, a credit card comparison and reviews website. Write to Astrid Martinez at astrid@creditdonkey.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our latest posts.


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