Rather than expose your banking details by holding them in a chip, LevelUp's NFC is just used to move the transaction along -- if it's used to get things started, shoppers can either switch to a QR code or complete the transaction with a second tap.

ENGADGET: LevelUp unveils payment docks that take both NFC and QR codes, leave out the guesswork

As in Europe, where no transaction can happen without a PIN code and a smart (chip) card.

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In early February, due to a technical oversight on our part, some raw transaction data appeared within the HTML code on some Blippy pages for about half a day.

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The system is marked by trust and informality, and operators are as sketchy with their records as any bookie--they have nothing but a scribble of first names or code words and a few details of the transaction.

FORBES: The Invisible Bankers

In order to comply with requirements imposed by the IRS, I must inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this blog is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter that is contained in this blog.

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The combination of the finger-scan and the search code are then looked up in a central database, to ensure that they tally, before the transaction is approved.

ECONOMIST: Security