The Cub Foods I frequent has recently introduced a Pay-By-Touch system. Attached to each credit card swiper at the checkout is a little pad right out of a Bond movie. You place your finger on the pad and *voila*, your checking account can be debited without writing out "eighty-five and 00/---------". Slick system, but I can't help but wonder about security.
To apply, you need a voided check and a photo ID. So I guess that's a fairly standard measure. It's as much as a credit card company requires to set up automatic payment. But what about the touch scanner? A CNN affiliate (KOIN - nice consumer reporting!) looked at the system, but didn't ask much about the security of it. In fact, they were more interested in asking whether Joe Blow thought it was safe than asking a security expert.
And where does Pay-By-Touch store all that personal information? I've received a couple of those "your information may have been compromised" notices in the past few months from my bank and mortgage company, so how do I know these guys are any good? It's just one more place personal information can be leaked.
The convenience, of course, is the sales pitch. No cards, signatures, or checks, no wallets or pockets. Just a fingerprint and a receipt. Of course, nothing can save you from the customer in front of you who grabbed the wrong coupon item and wants to wait for the largest and slowest employee in Cub history to go fetch it from the far corner of the store. And with Pay-By-Touch, you don't even have a credit card with which to open a vein...
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