Tech Briefing
While credit card companies have heralded the death of cash, some people still cling to their crumpled greenbacks.
Cash Not Dead Yet
While credit card companies have heralded the death of cash, some people still cling to their crumpled greenbacks. After all, if you lose a $20 bill, that’s all you lose. More secure systems might help move the cash crowd into the current century.
Most Americans still use credit cards with the magnetic strips that hold the card data, which is read when it is swiped through a terminal. That’s the data hackers keep stealing. This year, many Americans will be getting the more secure “chip-and-pin” cards that have been in use across the pond for years. The cards feature embedded microchips that encrypt the account data read by the checkout terminal. Customers verify their identity with a four-digit PIN, though Americans may still be signing their names.
Cash is under a more concerted attack from contactless cards that use a little antenna to beam the data to a terminal. “Wave and pay” cards are becoming more popular for purchases under £20 in the U.K., including the London Tube.
Of course, cards themselves may be overtaken by mobile phone systems that keep the actual card data out of the point of sale. Among those are the Google Wallet app that lets consumers use newer phones that have Near Field Communication short-range wireless capabilities to pay by entering a pin and tapping the phone on a compatible terminal.
With Apple Pay, consumers just hold their new-model iPhones near the terminal and press on the fingerprint reader to verify. The major retailers’ answer to Apple Pay is the CurrentC app, which uses scanned QR paycodes to exchange data between the phone and terminal to create a “token” that authorizes payment from a debit or bank account, cutting the card issuers out of the transaction.
Cool Apps
On the Road Again
If you’re on the road a lot, you already know the miles add up. With a 2014 tax deduction of 56 cents per business mile, it doesn’t take long for those miles to turn into dollars you could keep if only you tracked them. If you still rely on that little notebook in the glove box, here are some apps to make it easier.
With TripLog, you start a record when you get in your car and end it when you arrive. It takes care of the rest using your phone’s GPS. You can specify the purpose and add in other costs.
TrackMyDrive runs in the background and automatically tracks all your drives and lets you sort them as business or personal.
MileIQ (Apple) logs your drives automatically and lets you generate reports. Android version expected soon. Upgrades $6 and $60.
MyLog Mileage (Android) tracks your car travels with GPS and lets you add notes and generate reports as needed.
MileBuddy Lite (Apple) lets you track your travel and expenses and generate reports. Premium version $30.
