The Wallet Shoppe
So what is RFID Blocking anyway? It seems you can’t search for any wallet these days without seeing it advertised as a “premium” feature.
But what is RFID and why would you want to block it? We’ve got you covered - we’ll explain what it is, what the concerns are, and what you can do about it.
What Is RFID Anyway?
Radio-Frequency Identification, more commonly known as RFID, lets a reader communicate wirelessly with a tag. Contactless payment cards use a short-range form of this technology. If your card supports tap-to-pay, it will normally have the contactless symbol on it.
The symbol looks like a wi-fi icon on its side - and it is typically located on the front side of the card. (Note: not all credit cards with RFID technology will bear this icon. If you’d like to verify whether or not your card is in fact equipped with this technology, simply call the number for customer service located on the back of your card.)
Simply speaking, the RFID technology can be used to store any data - details such as account information, or if it’s on a passport, then details about who you are - and can also be used as a system whereby objects or even living things, such as animals, are tracked. RFID technology is also used with important objects such as credit cards and passports because it quickens the speed with which information is transmitted, such as during transactions.
The object with the technology will feature what’s known as an RFID tag, which can be placed on anything from books to grocery store items and beyond. The data that are thus stored on the RFID tag is then read by the RFID reader. You can think of this as you would a scanner. The information is transmitted with radio signals, hence the shape of the RFID icon.
In this way, objects are both identified and tracked easily through the radio waves. Taken together, the RFID reader and tag make up the collective RFID system. RFID technology has also been used to track livestock and pets, run automatic tolling systems, open automatic gates, and provide vehicle identification and performance monitoring.
These tags can be “active” (they have their own power) or “passive” (they only transmit in response to a reader sending a signal - this is how contactless payment cards work since they have no battery in them).
RFID and Credit Cards
If you’ve ever tapped your credit card against a terminal instead of swiping or inserting it, you’ve used contactless payment. It’s convenient, but does that convenience let someone nearby copy your card?
Reading some information from a card and making a working copy of its payment function are different things. Capital One explains that its contactless cards create a code that changes with each use at a chip-enabled register. A demonstration that reads card data doesn’t, by itself, show that the reader can reproduce the next legitimate contactless transaction.
RFID systems used for tolls, animal tracking, and payment cards aren’t interchangeable. A long read range for one system doesn’t establish the range or risk for your credit card.
What is RFID Blocking?
Nowadays, you might see wallets, purses, bags, and even articles of clothing that offer RFID protection that “shields” your information and renders it unable to be picked up by unwanted readers. What they are doing is offering versions of their products that come with RFID blocking technology or materials, thereby interrupting the electromagnetic waves so that your data cannot be read by unwanted RFID readers.
When manufactured correctly, the wallets, bags, and other objects where you store your credit card will feature material that effectively encases the card and gets between the RFID tag or chip and the reader that is trying to scan it. Think of the encasing as creating a dead zone; you can think of it like when you are in a below-ground room of a building and your cell phone signal is cut off. RFID blocking wallets function in a similar way, only the signal that is cut off is the electromagnetic technology.
Check which pockets are protected and which card systems the maker’s claim covers. Shielding intended for payment cards doesn’t necessarily block every access badge or transit card. It can also stop the tap you actually want to make, so expect to remove a protected card before using it.
For practical examples and a step-by-step check of your own wallet, see do RFID wallets work?.
Do You Need RFID Blocking?
The question is what you want it to do. A blocking wallet can interrupt wireless communication with a compatible card inside its protected pocket. It cannot stop someone stealing the wallet, reading a printed card number, or collecting your details through a fraudulent website.
Contactless chip security is useful, but it doesn’t make every use of a card equally protected. Capital One distinguishes in-person chip payments from online and telephone purchases, which don’t use the same in-store chip protection.
If you want to check your own wallet, follow the maker’s instructions and compare your card inside and outside the protected pocket at a reader you normally use. Only test a payment card during a purchase you intend to make. A failed tap tells you about that card, reader, and position; it isn’t proof against every possible reader.
For a travel wallet, secure pockets and a size you can carry comfortably still matter. Going abroad doesn’t by itself establish a need for RFID blocking.
Is RFID Blocking REALLY Worth It?
So, is RFID blocking technology worth it? We wouldn’t buy a wallet just because it contains RFID blocking. Choose the fit, access, and construction you like first.
Now, we’re not saying that purchasing a wallet with RFID protection is a bad thing… it’s not. If two wallets otherwise suit you equally well, it’s reasonable to choose the shielding if you want it.
If you’re feeling a bit “crafty”, you may have seen the aluminum foil trick. We wouldn’t treat improvised wrapping as verified protection: gaps, wear, and how you insert the card all affect the result. Nor should any blocking claim be read as an all-purpose fraud guarantee.
