Hackable Credit Cards ?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Thursday introduced a credit card that does not have to be swiped and allows consumers to wave their card past a sensor to make payments, a function already common at many U.S. gas stations.

A top issuer of credit cards in the United States, JPMorgan Chase said its new credit card, called "blink," will be marketed this summer and can be used in movie theaters, convenience stores, specialty shops and drug stores.

Sheetz Inc., an East Coast convenience store chain, will be JPMorgan Chase's first partner to launch a co-branded credit card with the contactless feature.

Another early adopter of the new card is convenience store chain 7-Eleven which will test the card in 170 of its stores and eventually will accept it at its 5,700 stores.

The new card will allow card holders to hold their card at a point of sale terminal at checkouts, rather than swiping the card or handing it to a store employee. As card members hold their card near the point of sale terminal, the terminal will emit a signal or tone to confirm the payment.

The new cards also can be used the same way as traditional credit cards with a magnetic stripe.

This new card payment technology has been used by customers at many Exxon Mobil Corp. gas stations since 1997.

The gas station's payment card has a miniature transponder that is attached to a customer's key chain and is waved in front of an electronic reader at pumps and checkout counters. A credit card or check card designated by the customer is then charged for the purchases.

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