Credit card revolution

The idea that a signature on the back of a credit card provides some sort of protection from fraud has always been pretty dubious – after all, if someone has the card, they know what the signature looks like, and they can use the card on the web without the signature anyway.

According to Springwise, a new credit card called the RevolutionCard has just been launched that recognizes this reality. The RevolutionCard does not have a signature, account number, or for that matter a name on it. Instead, security is provided by encryption and a four digit pin in a similar way to ATM cards.

In fact, users can also store money on the card, meaning it works very much like an ATM and credit card rolled into one. And the rate of interest paid on the outstanding balance depends on the credit profile of the user – the better you are at regularly paying off what you owe, the less interest you pay on it. Now that is a revolution.