Scraping off the 3 numbers on the back of the card

Normally with my bank cards I scrape off the last three numbers from the signature strip.

This means if someone steals my card they cant use it for telephone or internet shopping.

My natwest debit card just has the number surface printed on the signature strip however the monzo card is embossed into the plastic ‎underneath the printing so scraping off the number is very difficult.

You may say this is unnecessary since monzo users can suspend their own cards but there are plenty of scenarios where I cant do that for example if my phone is stolen at the same time or I dont realise i’ve lost my wallet for some time and someone finds it.

I think you should adjust the design so future cards are just surface printed and not embossed as well.

Just my 2p from a paranoid customer who has been burnt before.

All the best,

Alastair Johnson

3 Likes

Ah, that’s a really great idea actually. I might start doing that too…

So is that after you have memorized the three digit code or are you not going to use it for online/over the phone transactions?

after memorising it.

I have a good memory!

Very good idea!
I haven’t thought of scraping the numbers on the back off. Will do so later!

I think it is a great idea too, but then I starting thinking why they didn’t treat the CVC code like the PIN code and send it seperately in a letter and force you to memorize it in the same way to make the card more secure in the first place?
Is there any legal implications for example when scrapping the code off ?

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I’ve been thinking the same and exploring some ways it could possibly work along with any barriers to it.

Once the CVV is off the card, there is then no real visible barrier to implementing one time codes.

The objection I previously raised to that was that it would add a lot of friction and confusion by breaking long standing expectations of merchants and users for questionable gain. To counter this, you would have to explain to users where to find the CVV and redirect them from the expected place on the back of the card next to the signature box (a fairly small area to work with design wise but it could be combined with other things and extended to that blank area to the right) and in to the app in addition to explaining up front. Once they’re back in the app looking at the card screen, it’s fairly easy to deal with.

Of course, this ties card use even closer to the app but for internet purchases, is that really a big deal? It’s only physical purchases in stores and transport uses that should be always available when the app is unavailable to the user (battery dead, forgotten/lost/stolen phone, bad connectivity, etc) as far as I can see. This also only matters if it’s a one time or rolling CVV, you can always memorise or write down a static one. I’m also wondering if there are any cases where static CVVs would need to be generated for any kind of offline or delayed use.

If you really want to, (carefully) use a lighter.

To be honest, this raises a great point that perhaps fewer things should be printed on the card. Since you could get the same data anytime in-app anyway.

2 Likes

The only things the app currently shows is last four digits, expiry, and some kind of Monzo/MC issue ID.

But I’d definitely be all-for the card being purely chip+PIN/contactless - with no information printed on it whatsoever.

Could the card potentially be blank? With all data stored inside the app?

Not sure how this would work with refunds in store. :thinking:

While working in a shop we only gave refunds if they presented the same card as the original purchase so would check the embossed number

I’m pretty sure PoS systems can read info like that without taking payment?

Either way, how about a unique ID on the card (the number currently in lower-left?), password/PIN-protected access to view the full card number, expiry, and ID (to cross-reference) in the app? Plus some kind of interaction to flip-over for CVV so shopkeeper doesn’t see it.

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Problem we’re running in to here with removing all numbers is that it’s breaking merchant expectations. However dumb I think their floor rules are on cards and refunds are, those are what customers would have to deal with.

Sure, this might not be an unsolvable problem but considering the hassle people are having using Monzo in the US without a name on the cards, are the benefits of moving this complexity from the card to the app worth it? It may make the card look simpler and might improve security but you would be giving up compatibility with manual card imprint machines and raising issues with any merchant in any other country that wants to even take a look at the card.

In addition, as much as I hate physically handing my card over to a merchant, I would MUCH prefer to hand over that card than hand over my unlocked phone with an unlocked banking app for them to verify any numbers.

Before this gets raised, future Apple Pay and Android Pay card scanning can be sidestepped by adding the card through the app rather than manually starting the provisioning steps and manually verifying through the Wallet/Android Pay or iOS setup apps.

3 Likes

Final lets you give a unique credit card number to every merchant, or a disposable one-time use number for one-off purchases.

https://getfinal.com/ (US-only; invite-only/waitlist)

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Just in case anyone wants to claim that we don’t use card imprint machines anymore. :wink:

[:newspaper: Chaos as ASDA stores reject card payments] (https://twitter.com/i/moments/792721543646228480)

4 Likes

Just signed up to mention getfinal.com as I had just received my invite to sign up, didn’t read properly and found its US only at this time. Would love to see something like this in the UK. Just adding my +1 for this idea somewhere somehow in the future with Monzo :slight_smile: