Keychain Credit Cards: Innovative or Defunct?
Are Keychain Credit Cards Really a Convenience?
Credit card companies are always looking for new ways to make their products more convenient for their customers, and keychain credit cards are one of them. These new little cards can be attached to your keychain and quickly waved in front of a card reader for fast purchases. Seems like a novel idea, but are they really the next generation in credit cards?
Tired Of Lugging Around Your Wallet?
If you find your wallet to be excessively bulky, the possibility of being able to pay for a transaction electronically simply by waving your keychain over a receptor may seem too good to be true.
Instead of needing to sort through a bag for your lost wallet or keeping it in your back pocket, your keychain is all that you need to buy something. That is, assuming that you are diligent about where you put your keys. If you are like the rest of us, and lose your keys frequently, then you may be taking a significant risk!
What If Your Keychain Becomes Unwieldy?
Besides the threat of losing your keys (and, concurrently, your credit cards), you need to consider how many additions you can make to your keychain before it will become unwieldy.
If you can keep your collection to one or two keychain credit card wands, then it may not be an inconvenience. If, on the other hand, you need a different card for each merchant you shop at (which may be the case if you have several different merchant wands that are tied to one major bank credit account), then your keychain could very quickly resemble a preschooler's charm bracelet!
Yes, these cards do have their advantages -- but they also have their downfalls. Before you hop onto the keychain credit card bandwagon, ask yourself if it's really the right thing for you.
« Some Simple and Straightforward Tips for Avoiding Credit Card Fraud | Home | Your Credit Card Bill: Making Payments Easier »
