The Lemon Fool

XFool wrote:

Stompa wrote:I have a contactless credit card which has sometimes behaved a bit oddly on buses. Mostly it works as expected, but on the odd occasion I have found that whilst it appears to have worked the transaction never actually appears on my credit card statement. Once this has happened the card seems to get blacklisted, and I'm unable to use it on buses for a while. After a month or two it'll start working as normal again.

Thanks for that. So it could just be one of those things? Though in my case it definitely didn't work - red light on bus card reader.

Think I'll let sleeping dogs lie with the debit card. After all, I never normally use it for payments, I always use my credit card for that. If/when this bus issue crops up again I'll rely on my old Oyster card.

XFool wrote:The perils of modern life: Or, the increasing complexity of just paying for 'things'. Part XXIII

Question is: Why did my perfectly valid contactless debit card not work?

TIA

XFool wrote:I don't use Contactless, but I understand the first time a contactless card is used it has to be used to purchase something using Chip & Pin, else its contactless function can not be used. OK, I have never done this, but I have repeatedly used it with Chip & Pin at an ATM and via my card reader - is this not adequate? Why not?

swill453 wrote:

XFool wrote:I don't use Contactless, but I understand the first time a contactless card is used it has to be used to purchase something using Chip & Pin, else its contactless function can not be used. OK, I have never done this, but I have repeatedly used it with Chip & Pin at an ATM and via my card reader - is this not adequate? Why not?

No it's not adequate, as they have specifically told you you have to make a purchase with Chip&PIN before using it contactless.

As to the why - well they probably assume that most people will use it for purchases far more often than you do, and don't consider the possibility that the very first contactless use will be somewhere like a bus with no PIN facility.

Of course what they are trying to validate is that the card genuinely made it to your possession, and not been intercepted by a scroat who doesn't know the PIN. Your use of it in an ATM should have laid that to rest, but it probably didn't come up in any of their use-cases. Such is life, nobody's perfect, especially banks' IT.

The upshot is you were told what you needed to do to activate it, it's up to you whether you want to follow the instructions or not.

XFool wrote:Meanwhile, my original question remains unanswered: "Why did my contactless debit card not work on a TfL bus?"

mc2fool wrote:

XFool wrote:Meanwhile, my original question remains unanswered: "Why did my contactless debit card not work on a TfL bus?"

Perhaps the question is does it work anywhere?

XFool wrote:

mc2fool wrote:Perhaps the question is does it work anywhere?

For contactless purchases and payments? Possibly not. But then, as I don't use it for such, the simplest option now is to leave it alone. Meaning it can't then be used by anyone else either. So best for security, in this case.

mc2fool wrote:

XFool wrote:For contactless purchases and payments? Possibly not. But then, as I don't use it for such, the simplest option now is to leave it alone. Meaning it can't then be used by anyone else either. So best for security, in this case.

If you install and try the aforementioned app it will tell you the state of your card and (possibly, depending on what it says) answer your OP question.

XFool wrote:Amyway, I think the question seems likely answered as much as it can be and I'll just carry on as I am. So, in the best traditions of TLF, this thread is now (semi) officially closed.