1) They may be liable for it now, but Ts&Cs governing mobile payment systems are increasingly designed to shift blame-based liability onto customers via “reasonable care” requirements. Only a matter of time until similar wording comes up here.
2) Also, consumers may not notice and hence fail to inform their bank initially. Some comparable transactions have £50 limit that customers are still expected to pay in those cases.
As payment limits (and hence risk) are rising, so does the likelihood that this may be introduced, even if on a lower scale. Just because card companies are liable now, doesn’t mean they will still be (fully) liable tomorrow. In the meantime, we’ve built the infrastructure.
3) There is a burden of proof issue that might come back to bite customers unless fully regulated with consumer protection in mind.
4) As with credit card fraud, card providers may let you get away with it a few times, but if it happens repeatedly or in quick succession there will likely come a point when they view you as a security risk and start making your life a misery with extra checks.
Maybe not today or tomorrow (because they want the technology to be embedded in our everyday). But someday, and then for the rest of your life.
5) After all the fuss with chip and PIN to increase payment security, why are we all of a sudden so gung ho about an arguably less secure system? Do the 30 seconds timesaving really make that much of a difference to people’s life? Or the bank’s? Who really benefits here?
6) As with all smart technology, user choice is increasingly reduced to zero. If you want to take the risk, fine, do it. But if I don’t, why should I? But banks often no longer provide alternatives (one of my CC providers doesn’t, my bank still does, but for how much longer?)
TL:DR: I shall embrace life in the slow lane and keep my home and my wallet as dumb as I’m allowed to for as long as I’m allowed to and you can all stand behind me in the queue, huffing and puffing to the sound of me ignoring you. The joys of middle age, young Padawan 😉
