Share

Maybe the old-fashioned credit card won't become obsolete after all.
Six years after it began testing a payment device that attaches to a key chain, American Express Co. is discontinuing its "Express Pay" fob that was touted as a convenience for consumers who didn't want to dig into their wallets for a credit card.

The 'Express Pay' device is dropped after six years.
The fob is one of a slew of newfangled payment methods introduced by the credit-card industry in recent years. Eager to persuade consumers to ditch their cash and checks, credit card companies are trying to turn key chains, wristwatches and armbands into payment devices.

Now, however, it appears consumers may not be wowed by the devices as much as the card companies had hoped. In abandoning the fob, AmEx plans to focus on its traditional cards -- installing computer chips in them that allow customers to hold the card up to an electronic reader instead of swiping it through a device.....for more of the story from MarketWatch