Credit card swiper now in your home

A new device has been made available in the US that allows shoppers to purchase items online by swiping their credit or debt card through an electronic reader, rather than manually inputting their card’s numbers onto a website.

The device plugs into a USB port and transfers credit card data through the computer after it has been scrambled to avoid detection by hackers. NetSecure Technologies, which produced the gadget, said this is more secure than manually entering credit details.

“Until now, there hasn’t been an affordable and effective solution for consumers to securely protect their credit card data while shopping online,” said Daniel McCann, president of NetSecure Technologies, in a statement.

“Hackers have extremely sophisticated methods of circumventing traditional internet security to steal your personal information right from your computer. SmartSwipe facilitates transactions that leave no trace of credit card data, guaranteeing your information remains secure.”

The SmartSwipe credit reader was previously available in Canada, but is now available to all US customers at a price of US$100. There are currently no detailed plans to bring the item to Australia.