A recent experience with one of my credit card accounts that was compromised made it clear to me that storing cards in my virtual Apple wallet, carrying my iPhone and activating it abroad for data and text, and having all banking and credit card apps on my phone, is the way to go in the age of AI.
Background: over the last 15 years, I have had 1 debit and 3 CC cards compromised or used "illegally" - I have never lost a physical card, but in those 4 cases unlawful charges or debits were made. In each case, I had to speak to a customer service representative to get the card canceled, etc.
About a month ago, sitting on the couch one evening, I got a text alert for a Chase Visa card asking if I had made a particular charge...I did not recognize it...if I pressed "no" it indicated the card would be cancelled and I would receive a new card in about a week. First thing I did was I logged into my Chase mobile app and could see the suspicious charge pending. Now knowing the text was legit, I returned to the text and pressed "no", and that was the only interaction I had with Chase, the first time in one of these compromised card situations I did not have to at least notify them of a suspicious charge and/or to discuss it with someone, live, answering all kinds of questions, verifying my identity, etc. Furthermore, within hours, the new unique account number in my Apple wallet was updated and ready to use, and I did not have to call or speak to anyone at Chase to activate it, and I also did not have to call a number to activate when I received the physical card, either.
The points relevant to having a card compromised (physically stolen or used illegally) whether you are abroad or at home are that it pays to have your own smartphone in hand capable of receiving data and texts, have all banking and CC mobile apps on your phone, and have all of your cards stored in your virtual wallet. Even if you don't lose or have your physical card stolen, you can be alerted to suspicious activity via text and cancel your card via text or the banking app, and your virtual wallet will be update quickly with the new card. This also eliminates the need for the CC company to mail you a new card somewhere abroad, just have them mail it to your home address.
My compromised card experience was with Chase, so YMMV. However I recently applied for an AMEX card, approval was instantaneous, I immediately installed their app on my phone and was able to have the card stored in my Apple wallet, ready to use. I tried out Apple Pay that afternoon at a restaurant, and it worked. When the physical card arrived (it came next day, overnighted, which blew my mind), I did not have to call to activate it. So it appears to me that both Chase and AMEX are relying more on AI to deal with lost or stolen cards, and the issuance of new cards, too, eliminating the need to talk to a customer rep...of course you can call them if you want, but my recent experiences with these 2 companies were very satisfactory, and if AI allows me to avoid getting placed on hold and talking to a human, all the better.
