There are various methods of making online financial transactions more secure for those who remain uncomfortable with using a standard credit or debit card.
Take PayPal’s dongle, for example, which generates a random password used to access an account and for the transfer of funds. Basically, the idea is to introduce an additional layer of protection for the account owner.
However, as many people who used a separate dongle quickly discover, having to keep up with a separate device can be somewhat annoying.
Fortunately, MasterCard is showing off a next-generation credit card called the Display Card. The device is sized like a traditional credit card but features a small display in the top corner along with a small touch sensitive number pad.
The display is used to show one-time passwords that users can enter to complete certain transactions – essentially allowing the card and password dongle to combined into a single device. MasterCard also sees the little LCD display on the credit card being used for other functions in the future.
For example, other than generating the one-time passwords, the Display Card technology might potentially be capable of showing available credit balance, displaying accumulated reward points, or listing recent transactions.
Unfortunately, it remains unclear as to when such a device will actually hit the streets. Right now, the only bank offering the Display Card is called Standard Chartered, which has given the Display Card to certain customers in Singapore.
