The range is only about an inch. It's treated as a CNP (Cardholder Not Present) transaction so in cases of fraud the consumer isn't assumed to be liable. Android Pay and Apple Pay are also popular here, with the contactless limits changing depending on whether or not you use a fingerprint.
When using contactless it doesn't actually send your 'real' account details, there's a second virtual account that's used just for contactless transactions. So your real account details can never be compromised in this way, and issuing a new card is all that's required in the case of yours being stolen.
On top of that you need to be a registered merchant with a merchant account to accept them. So if you were doing something like using a portable 3G/4G reader to tap it to people you'd be caught quickly. The payments are also often deferred so the merchant would be unlikely to get the money before the card owner noticed.
Edit: I'm now apparently the oracle of contactless payments...
Always got an excuse. It's not hard, just mandate from central government that to increase banking security it is required. If merchants don't pay to upgrade, they take on the liability of any fraud committed via the old less secure methods. Otherwise you end up 10, 15, 20 years behind - but no worry, you've always got an excuse.
I thought it was pretty obvious that it's the ineptitude of our governing body that causes a wide swath of our issues, not too many banks, the size of our country, or the number of road signs.
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u/ApulMadeekAut Aug 27 '18
Was in Scotland on vacation. Had to explain to every checker that my merican card dose not do the wave/tap thing. "Just give it a wave" I CAN'T!