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Good. I've always been worried about those wireless card readers restaurants use.

Yes but the credit card companies should have been doing this from the start. It is their system that is being compromised.

Quite true, but better late than never.

Yes but how long has it taken to get them to protect their own terminals? This is more about bumping up merchant fees and denying responsibility for any losses. Just ask any merchant who has been denied payment because of card fraud.

We recently implemented this in my work (small business). I promise you that it's a gimmick.

So are those wireless terminals secure or not?

I don't suppose any terminal is completely secure, whether it's wired, wireless, or voodoo.

I personally take the approach of keeping as little money in my current account as I can, and keeping the rest in another account which I don't have a debit card for and transfer money when it is needed.

I never use my debt card except to draw cash at a few known safe places. It's just too dangerous in cafés and petrol stations, as several of my friends have discovered.

Credit cards FTW - it's mostly their problem if something goes wrong and you can stop the card with very little inconvenience.

We don't use wireless terminals, but the questionnaire we had to fill in asked about retention and storage of customer data. Since we don't store or retain customer data electronically (and receipts are only kept for tax purposes), most of the questions were answered as "N/A", and a certificate of compliance was issued - all without a human being even checking anything.

Still, the boss is pretty pissed at the higher fees...

Snap.
The best bit about that is that any transfers between my internet savings and current account are instant.
I never let websites save my card details either. I'd rather spend a few extra seconds entering them every time.

It's pretty much the same for debit cards - if the transaction is fraudulent (and you haven't been reckless) then your bank will cover your loss.

The only real advantage to using Credit Cards is that your issuer is jointly liable for purchases over £100* by virtue of S.75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. And TBH that advantage is now waning thanks to schemes offered by Visa & Mastercard with regards to debit cards (although not Maestro).

*among other restrictions.

Banks are desperate for extra income and higher fees are just the way they can do it. Nothing to do with security.

The difference with a debit card is, in the mean time your bank account is empty. Direct debits might bounce, services be cut off, and you could find yourself stranded in the back of beyond with no way to pay for travel or food.

With a credit card you have a month to argue your case before any money leaves your account. Your life is largely unaffected, beyond making a few phone calls and getting a new card.

Point taken, though there's nothing to stop them declining the transaction.

In my experience the bank systems to detect fraud are pretty poor.

I know a couple of people who have had their accounts emptied - both times it happened from abroad whilst they were still using the card in the UK.

However, when I tried to fill my car with petrol twice in a day at the start and end of a journey I had to ring through to the bank and explain that I wasn't trying to fraud myself out of the cash.