1997 – E-Cash
SIMON: Before the debit card made the advent of our everyday lives, one technology were herald as a way to revolutionize the way we purchase stuff. Chip-equipped cards of smart cards as they call it help make transactions easier unlike cash and/or credit cards. As we first reported in 1997, Newswatch traveled to Guelph on where the pilot project is taking place and they were the latest thing. Here’s Ian Hympus.
REPORTER: Mondex, the electronic cash system has made its debut all over the City of Guelph. Its purpose to solve problems involved with cash and cheques by allowing the monetary value to be stored inside a special chip card which in turn, enables the user to simply pay the purchase by inserting the card, confirming the amount and entering the PIN number.
BANK REPRESENTATIVE: Our customers were very impressed on the technology we have offered. We were able to equip our readers on payphones, restaurants and even on transit buses. We are trying to publicly notify all Guelph residents to test drive the technology and from our response they were more impressed.
REPORTER: So how does it compare to the current magnetic card system as it has for Interac?
BANK REPRESENTATIVE: Well the Interac system works in a similar manner to credit cards. The merchant swipes the card and enters the amount and unlike a credit card, the transaction is turned over to customer who can then confirm the amount.
REPORTER: Many Bell Payphones around Guelph have recently retrofitted with chip card readers so that Bell QuickChange stored value cards along with Mondex cards can be used in place of a quarter or even credit cards. So what impact does the new Mondex system hold for many businesses? Many of them however, refused to accept the new system. We visit one cycle shop to discuss the dirt.
REPORTER: So why do you decided not to accept the new system?
CYCLE SHOP OWNER: Well for starters, it could cost us a lot of money to implement the new system and the letter that the company mailed to us that we don’t need to opt in directly and that’s the right thing to do.
REPORTER: We asked consumers on how they felt on using this new technology.
CONSUMER #1: It’s very easy to use. It eliminates the need to carry cash, checks and credit cards. I can load any amount on my card and use it simple as that.
CONSUMER #2: Just now, I used this card to pay for my groceries and then I used the card to pay for my coffee. It’s very interesting to use this card and I hopefully many Canadian cities will adopt this type of technology.
CONSUMER #3: I used this card to pay for my bus fare and the machine deducts the proper fare off my card so that way, I wouldn’t have to round up my amount to the nearest dollar.
REPORTER: The Guelph Mondex project is still ongoing and there’s no word on when the new technology will be implemented nationwide, but the company has promised that the system will be ready for nationwide deployment sometime by the end of 1999 or the early 2000s.
SIMON: Since that story had aired, Mondex had failed to provide a nationwide implementation and in 2001 the project was quietly shelved. As the security of debit card skimming began to increase, the Interac association along with the major credit card companies is starting to implement cards equipped with a microchip and provided guidelines on equipping all bank machines and PIN pads to handle chip cards. It is expected by 2010, every Canadian debit and credit card will be equipped with these chips to reduce the amount of fraud associated with debit and credit card skimming. Currently a pilot project is well underway in Kitchener-Waterloo and the planned project in the Quebec town of Saint-Jerome will commence in the spring of this year. Both projects are expected to be completed in the fall. Join us next week on Flashback, when we go back into the archives to revisit a upcoming female rockstar, some few years ago.
