Bank card chips constantly being damaged.

30 comments

1. I have this problem too, I think it’s humidity.

2. The wallet is rubbing against the chip. Leather will slowly wreck the surface of card chips.

   Keep it in a separate protective sleeve or find a wallet with cloth sleeves built in.

3. I have the same problem with all my cards.. they all stop working after a while. I thought that my wallet was damaging them but now I’m taking extra care to protect them and they still get damaged.

4. I think heat also plays a factor. If it is in the sun or in a hot place they will not work as well.

5. A combination of friction, heat and humidity.

   Keep your cards separate in individual sleeves in your wallet (don’t jam two or three cards in one slot).

   Stuffing a wallet into your trousers/jeans will amplify the heat and humidity factor that’s already present from the outside environment.

   The moment I started using a sling and storing my wallet and cards more carefully, card chip wear and tear has been minimal and I’ve been able to use the cards for several years.

   Of course, YMMV depending on where you’re located.

6. i have a booklet type thing with plastic sleeves (meant for business cards or photos) where i keep my bank cards and i’ve never had damage problems.

7. I wonder if they’ve changed how they make chips in recent years?
   Previous card lasted 5 years and the chip still looks normal. Had the new card less than a month, same wallet, same usage, and the chip is already looking worn out and scratched.

8. Switch to a ridge-style wallet.. they are solid, never had a damaged card.

9. I had the same problem. I thought it was my wallet causing it, so I bought an expensive wallet. Honestly though, I don’t think it’s the quality of the wallet causing the problem; I used to keep my old wallet in my pocket, but I keep my new wallet in my bag. I think that the old wallet used to get hotter and more moist (gross), and would maybe move about more and rub on the cards inside.

   My advice- don’t keep your wallet in your pocket, if that’s something you’re doing at the moment.

10. > The chips work but they look worn and generally depressed

    I can relate

11. My gf breaks a card every 1-2 years. I have no issue with the same card 🤷‍♂️
    But I do keep the card in it’s own slot in a rather sparsely equipped wallet. The lady probably has 20+ cards.

12. Yes my cards in Europe and Canada lasted me very long. My Japanese credit card lasted 1 year, but my bank card is already 8 years. ?

13. Take another card without chip and cram two of them in the same slot, with the IC on the inside, completely sealed and protected, a bit difficult to take out.

14. What do you mean by worn out/ damaged? Is it like small contacts on each division of the chip or horizontal lines on the chip? Also how often do you use this card? For me my cash card which I use every few months doesn’t have any visible damage on them but my credit card do have some lines on them which is understandable because I use that a lot. That’s all the damage they have.

15. never used those slots. It always seemed to me hard to insert – pull out. And obviously chips will worn out. My women’s wallet is like that my cards in one same pocket as any other money. The only card that is worn out is that I use every day and obviously it caused by terminal.

16. Since nobody has offered the idea–maybe switch to a phone case that has slots for cards?

17. [Try one of these from Secrid](https://secrid.com/ja-global/). I would recommend the Miniwallet which is big enough to hold about 4-6 cards in the protected area, and then you can put about 6 in the slots on the side.

    You can get them from the site I linked or I think they are also on Amazon or at LOFT

18. Never had that problem in 15+ years of carrying cards in my wallet in my pocket in all seasons in Japan. I have had a couple of cards split after a couple of years, possibly because the card holders in the wallet at the time were a little tight and I needed to used a bit of extra force to pull them out. I did also at one point start using a “new” wallet which I’d purchased years ago, but found it left left a sticky residue over anything I put inside it.

    Mind you I probably don’t use the physical cards all that much these days; most of my purchases are on-line or for daily incidentals using the physical currency tokens provided by the BoJ.

19. It also is partially from inserting and removing the credit card from readers. Mine get worn that way.

20. heat plays a factor but if you keep your cards in a leather wallet in your back pocket…then it is something bound to happen. pop-up style wallets for cards are great.

21. WTF. I saw the exact post a month or so ago. Literally feels the same post, I felt deja vu reading it. Did you get a new card and damage it again?

22. I had the same issue with my wallet in the states, maybe my ass is more humid. My solution has been to keep a card with no chip over the top of the other to avoid it rubbing off on the leather over time. My chips look great besides the usual dual lines from the machine.

23. I had the same issue

24. Haven’t had any issues. Maybe it’s my wallet?

25. I just realized my 千葉銀 card doesn’t have a (visible) chip. Is that a Japanese thing? I’ve had it for a -good- while, never had any problems with it. So I guess that helps.

26. I don’t see this mentioned anywhere, but this is a problem that can also stem from literal card design physically. There is “flat” type of card design in which card chip is recessed somewhat in, those get almost no damage in the wallet, typical for new style of cards with privacy features (like card number on the back instead of the front, so that you don’t show the numbers when you tap to pay).

    I have “normal” old style cards in my wallet, the ones just like what you would expect card to look, and newer ones that have “flat” style with recessed chip. Newer ones got chips pretty much in pristine condition.

    By old school style I mean this kind:
    https://pngimg.com/image/78936
    https://eduz.ca/credit-card-design-1
    https://149842030.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/free-credit-card-mockup.jpg

    By “Flat” one new I mean newer design with privacy features like numbers on the back:
    https://slate.com/business/2018/04/why-are-credit-card-numbers-on-the-back-of-the-card-now.html

    It can probably be different depending on the bank, but flat new design ones from my bank came with chip “indented” inside the card and they are in great condition.

    So one of the first steps I would take on top of what others said is seeing if there is physical difference about design of the cards and asking around if someone has the cards with style that gets less weary.

    Also note, I have business card with old, not flat style, and that one also had recessed chip. So the first thing I would do is checking for design your bank uses. Despite looking the same on the surface, physically cards can be different.

    **Edit:** New ones also use different material for the chip. Instead of gold chip like on the old ones, it is grey/silver or black looking chip. I assume that chip wear was actual problem that was noticed and solutions implemented to newer designs, but it will depend on the bank actually following up on that.

27. Never happened to me. One recommendation is to try to use the approximation sensor on register machines rather than inserting the card

28. Don’t sit on your wallet if you’re doing that.

    A good leather wallet really shouldn’t damage the cards.

29. All the cards in my wallet get so much more wear and tear here than they did when I lived in the US, and I can’t figure out why!

    I put some of them in clear plastic sleeves and replace the sleeve as needed, but I don’t know how to prevent the wear in the first place.

30. I thought my card was fucked. Bank, 7-11 and so on did not work. Famima was fine. Took it to the bank. The woman behind the counter pulled out a shitty eraser, brushed off the chip, and all was good.