Card numbers rub off

No reason for the physical card to have those numbers printed on it I suppose. And bank transfers will use the number and sort code of the actual account.

2 Likes

The card numbers are in app. CVV is not yet tho.

What is the need for transfers? My card already does not have acct/sort code? Or is this a different type of transfer?

2 Likes

Theoretically of course, yes.

Has anyone had an issue of this type recently and if so, where? Is this back to the days when manual swipe machines were the norm?

Major banks would not be issuing cards (and would not be allowed to) if this were a problem, surely.

2 Likes

Chase’s cards are a nice middle ground.

The non-metal cards are also an interesting material.

Yes, it was mentioned on this forum just 6 days ago when someone had this issue visiting Japan during the Rugby World Cup earlier this year

As the other reply mentioned, I did, a couple months ago. Small, family-owned and operated hotel in central Tokyo. They only had an imprinter. Having said this, I have never bumped into a major chain hotel in Japan that used one regularly. Stay away from small independent hotels and you should be fine.

Funny thing, that- the hotel refusing my Chase Sapphire Preferred was what kicked that off. I asked him why, since he just looked at it and said “no” without even apparently doing anything, and he had me look over the counter and showed me the imprinter. That was actually the first time I’d seen one since the 90s (I’d been fortunate enough to not have to go shopping in a power or IT outage at any of the stores I’d been to before then). He told me (after I asked him, in Japanese, why he only had an imprinter), that if I really wanted to pay with an unembossed card in the future to make a prepaid reservation through a travel agency, but they weren’t planning to change their ways for in-person payments.

I lived in Japan for 4 years and frequently came across the old imprinters - they are used surprisingly often - even in taxis in Tokyo when they can’t get a data connection for their card machines.

It was certainly part of the culture shock of moving there as you don’t see them used often in the UK - though I have also used them in India.

Would it also be to do with looking more official?

Since they’re such a recognisable colour, there are still stupid acceptance issues from time to time, where someone’s not waited to see if their payment went through and left, so the merchant who doesn’t know what Monzo is/realise it’s just a Mastercard will refuse to accept Monzo cards. If they weren’t embossed, people may think they look less proper which could exacerbate the above sort of issue. They would remind me of those toy cards you get in kids shopping playsets.

I understand in some years time it may be the norm to not have them embossed, and then they won’t look fake, but until it becomes more commonplace I feel like adding another feature that singles out Monzo as “different” to most cards could be to the detriment of acceptance.

My IKEA Family card was like this and it completely rubbed off at each end. Then once it’s gone it’s gone. I think that’s the problem with raised but not embossed… if it does rub off you have nothing there to show what the number was.

Obviously the IKEA one probably wasn’t premium printing so it would be more likely to rub off quickly!

Hmm I never had that. Same design since about 2013