By Lisa Hochgraf
I was in a cab this morning en route to The Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, and tomorrow's launch of CUES Nexus Conference, when I saw this notice, a sticker on the window next to me:
"The method used to authenticate credit card transactions for approval is not secure and personal information is subject to being intercepted by unauthorized personnel."
Huh? Was this some wireless system with no security?
OK, I thought to myself, I'm a credit union reporter and editor. I'll bite. I asked the driver just what "method" the cab company uses. Apparently, they take down the customer's card number and expiration and run the actual transaction much later, when they can get to a machine.
While the notice first seemed to look out for the cardholder, my driver went on to tell me that the system the cab company is using really isn't that great for the company and its drivers either. Just last week, in fact, he took a fare to Plano, Texas, accepted a card number as payment and got completely stiffed for $65 when the transaction didn't go through.
Maybe that notice on the window was meant to discourage me from using plastic. Indeed, I did pay cash. And while I did so, I wondered how many small businesses out there need better card solutions, how credit unions are already helping and what more they could be doing.
Lisa Hochgraf is marketing/operations editor for CUES' Credit Union Management magazine and edits the CUES Tech Port e-newsletter, News to Go.
