How to disable payWave but keep chip+PIN
May 16, 2013 12:40 AM Subscribe
My bank just sent me my new Visa debit/EFTPOS/ATM card, and as well as magstripe (want) and contact chip+PIN (want) it has payWave (do not want!).
I spoke to my otherwise excellent bank, whose representative told me there is nothing they can do to disable the payWave facility on this card because "that's controlled by Visa". The letter that came with the card says that payWave is available for all transactions under $100.
Judging by the shape of the contacts it's the kind shown top left in this X-ray photo and has no loop antenna.
With the card that this one replaces, I frequently encountered bloody-minded EFTPOS terminals that would reject magstripe access but allow chip+PIN. I've never found a magstripe-only terminal that the card doesn't work with, so I'm guessing there's a flag somewhere on the stripe identifying the card as chipped.
So, questions:
1. Is there something I can do to this card that will physically disable payWave but keep contact-based chip+PIN working?
2. If I do manage to disable payWave, am I then likely to strike terminals that attempt to mandate its use for sub-$100 transactions?
I spoke to my otherwise excellent bank, whose representative told me there is nothing they can do to disable the payWave facility on this card because "that's controlled by Visa". The letter that came with the card says that payWave is available for all transactions under $100.
Judging by the shape of the contacts it's the kind shown top left in this X-ray photo and has no loop antenna.
With the card that this one replaces, I frequently encountered bloody-minded EFTPOS terminals that would reject magstripe access but allow chip+PIN. I've never found a magstripe-only terminal that the card doesn't work with, so I'm guessing there's a flag somewhere on the stripe identifying the card as chipped.
So, questions:
1. Is there something I can do to this card that will physically disable payWave but keep contact-based chip+PIN working?
2. If I do manage to disable payWave, am I then likely to strike terminals that attempt to mandate its use for sub-$100 transactions?
Response by poster: I've sent them an email asking for my payWave limit to be lowered to $0.0001 and will see how they respond.
I'd still like to know if it's possible to render the card completely incapable of being remotely skimmed, though; if somebody makes a magstripe clone of my payWave card, I'm unconvinced that the payWave transaction limit would then apply to them.
posted by flabdablet at 2:09 AM on May 16, 2013
I'd still like to know if it's possible to render the card completely incapable of being remotely skimmed, though; if somebody makes a magstripe clone of my payWave card, I'm unconvinced that the payWave transaction limit would then apply to them.
posted by flabdablet at 2:09 AM on May 16, 2013
Mine recently went through the washing machine & tumble dryer. Mag strip, chip & paywave all still working perfectly, much to my surprise.
posted by goshling at 2:13 AM on May 16, 2013
posted by goshling at 2:13 AM on May 16, 2013
You can apparently either smash the RFID chip with a hammer, if you can find out where in the card it is. OR you can microwave the card for 2 seconds.
I would be very careful with the microwave idea though.
The RFID chip/antennae will be the first thing to break, but it might not be the only thing to break.
To destroy the chip with a hammer you can look for a small square indent on your card and then whack it with a hammer a few times. You can also google the name and make of your card with RFID chip and that might show you where to hit it.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:51 AM on May 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I would be very careful with the microwave idea though.
The RFID chip/antennae will be the first thing to break, but it might not be the only thing to break.
To destroy the chip with a hammer you can look for a small square indent on your card and then whack it with a hammer a few times. You can also google the name and make of your card with RFID chip and that might show you where to hit it.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:51 AM on May 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
OR you can microwave the card for 2 seconds.
I would be very careful with the microwave idea though.
The RFID chip/antennae will be the first thing to break, but it might not be the only thing to break.
And since the card also has a contact chip that the OP does want, this method would likely be too risky.
However for others who might need this solution for their own needs, remember to put a coffee mug full of water in the back corner of the microwave when doing this. Running a microwave with zero water content in the cooking chamber is hard on the internals. (This advice also goes for turning unwanted optical media into lightning trail coasters.)
posted by radwolf76 at 5:23 AM on May 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I would be very careful with the microwave idea though.
The RFID chip/antennae will be the first thing to break, but it might not be the only thing to break.
And since the card also has a contact chip that the OP does want, this method would likely be too risky.
However for others who might need this solution for their own needs, remember to put a coffee mug full of water in the back corner of the microwave when doing this. Running a microwave with zero water content in the cooking chamber is hard on the internals. (This advice also goes for turning unwanted optical media into lightning trail coasters.)
posted by radwolf76 at 5:23 AM on May 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Microwaving is also likely to demagnetize the magnetic strip.
posted by pont at 11:24 AM on May 16, 2013
posted by pont at 11:24 AM on May 16, 2013
Perhaps an RFID blocking wallet would be a useful workaround?
posted by overleaf at 11:29 AM on May 16, 2013
posted by overleaf at 11:29 AM on May 16, 2013
Perhaps an RFID blocking wallet would be a useful workaround?
Probably not, since the OP talks of rendering the card "completely incapable of being remotely skimmed," and the only way a blocking wallet could provide that level assurance is if the card never left it.
posted by radwolf76 at 12:22 PM on May 16, 2013
Probably not, since the OP talks of rendering the card "completely incapable of being remotely skimmed," and the only way a blocking wallet could provide that level assurance is if the card never left it.
posted by radwolf76 at 12:22 PM on May 16, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by kandinski at 1:06 AM on May 16, 2013