I will admit, my knowledge of the near field comm is limited. But I'm still trying to see any benefits from it.
It's a convenient option for some, just like plastic credit/debit cards are. Nobody is forced to use it.
We can come up with negatives for every choice. For example, one could make the argument that plastic is worse than paper money because we are tracked and usually have to sign for a purchase. Sounds terrible! Who in their right mind would ever use a credit card?
In my daughter's case, she has a small child. She always has him in one arm, and her phone and keys in the other. So it's much much easier for her to tap her phone to just pay and go. Not to mention she's far less likely to accidentally leave her phone behind because it's in her hand; something she's done with credit cards in a rush.
For less than $20 or so, many places don't require the PIN. That's no different than credit cards not requiring a signature under the same circumstances.
Security seems worse from what I've read here and there as with a CC they mostly need physical access to swipe the strip. But with a phone merely getting close can do the same thing.
Merely getting close can do what same thing? There has to be a coded transaction between the phone and the payment pod. Even if someone figured out a way to spoof that, without you noticing them holding somethnig against your phone and a transaction taking place, they'd be very limited in the amount they could steal because of the PIN requirement.
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If you lose a credit card, someone can charge hundreds of dollars on it, easily. If you lose your phone, they can only do small amounts without your PIN.
Heck, if someone has your credit card for a second, they can swipe and make a copy of it, or even just write down the numbers and use it online later on. They cannot steal such useful info from your phone.
NFC is very secure compared to a credit card which has your info (account number and name) written in plain sight.
