this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2026
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The chip in a credit card is just a circuit, right? They're not magnetic? (pawb.social)
submitted 6 days ago by Kolanaki@pawb.social to c/pillow_talk@lemmy.world
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Because every single csrd in my wallet no longer has its chip read (get an error when inserting) and have to use the tap to pay system instead.

I have had this happen way back when I first got a bank account as a teen, before the chip, because I got too close to an electro magnet; but that was when they only had the magnetic strip. AFAIK the chip is just a chip.

So how/why are all my cards fucked up at the same time? 🤨

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[–] rowinxavier@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Tap and pay uses the NFC coil for communication with the payment device. Inserting the card uses the contact pads on the surface of the card to do the same thing. If the coil is working but the contacts aren't you are probably looking at something interfering with the actual contact with the pads.

A few options spring to mind but we have the complicating factor of multiple cards being impacted at the same time. If it had impacted only one card I would ask if you perhaps had something like hand lotion or grease that could have gotten onto the card surface, but given multiple cards are impacted I would consider corrosion a possibility. If your wallet is in a sweaty place the moisture can corrode the surface and make it nonconductive, stopping it from working when inserted.

To test and fix this try rubbing the contacts with a clean, dry cloth vigorously. You want to basically polish the contacts and see a change in colour, back to the usual gold surface you had when you got the card. Hopefully that is all you need.