Plastic surveillance

Payment cards and the history of transactional data, 1888 to present

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5260779
AutoresJoseph Lauer (0000-0001-9028-2360, University of New Hampshire, autor de correspondencia)
Año2020
Volumen7
Número1
Páginas205395172090763
Fecha de publicación2020-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaBig Data & Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2053-9517 • E-ISSN: 2053-9517
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/2053951720907632
OpenAlexW3014732470
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas41

Modern payment cards encompass a bewildering array of consumer technologies, from credit and debit cards to stored-value and loyalty cards. But what unites all of these financial media is their connection to recordkeeping systems. Each swipe sends data hurtling through invisible infrastructures to verify accounts, record purchase details, exchange funds, and update balances. With payment cards, banks and merchants have been able to amass vast archives of transactional data. This information is a valuable asset in itself. It can be used for in-house data analytics programs or sold as marketing intelligence to third parties. This research examines the development of payment cards in the United States from the late 19th century to present, drawing attention to their fundamental relationship to identification, recordkeeping, and data mining. The history of payment cards, I argue, is not just a history of financial innovation and computing; it is also a history of Big Data and consumer surveillance. This history, moreover, provides insight into the growth of transactional data and the datafication of money in the digital economy

Advertising · Analytics · ATM card · Big data · Business · Commerce · Computer security · Credit card · Database · Database transaction · Debit card · Loyalty · Mobile payment · Payment · Payment card · Payment processor · Payment service provider · Transaction data · Computer Science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Finance · Marketing