Credit Card Debt Management

Bank of America, with its Visa partnership, was one of the pioneers. Discover and MasterCard debuted theirs in 2002 and 2003, though those products appear to be defunct now. It’s the keyring credit card, a miniaturized version that consumers have the option to receive in addition to their regular credit card. A Boston Globe article tells the tale of one suburban mom who loves the keyring card for its convenience, allowing her to leave her purse and wallet in the car.

The article also tells the tale of Bank of America’s estimates on the profit increases linked to keyring credit card use. Of course, consumer studies have shown that shoppers tend to spend more when swiping plastic instead of using cash. Amazingly, according to the Globe article, further studies have shown that consumers with the miniature plastic will spend 2 to 3 percent more than regular credit card users.

But, customer convenience and increased corporate profits aside, is this really a good idea? Hello, identity theft? Anyone? Call me crazy, but am I the only one thinking this could be a problem? The miniature credit card has apparently given way to the Speedpass, a miniature keyring device that works with the radio frequency-enabled system allowing consumers to pay with a mere swipe of their card in front of a card reader.

A lot of people already considered the RFID-enabled credit card unsafe. Despite the card’s very low frequency, some feared the emissions could be picked up any nearby identity thief with an RFID card reading device. Nevertheless, many credit card companies are making their new or replacement cards RFID-enabled, whether the cardholder knows it or not. And now that little RFID device can be on your keyring, too. According to MSNBC columnist Gary Krakow, Mobil and Exxon gas stations are on this miniature Speedpass bandwagon, and McDonald’s will also soon join in.

Remember those needlepoint keychains that said “Jesus” in a sort of puzzle form that looked like Oriental writing at first glance? They were everywhere in the 1980’s — at least in the Bible Belt, where I was raised. I’m going to go make one of those for my keychain, only it’s going to feature my social security number and birthdate in neon green. It will be safe and undecipherable because it’s a puzzle, an illusion, trickery of the eye. Probably nobody will figure it out. After all, these identity thieves aren’t too smart, you know.