Checks are obsolete in Norway. The banks don't have such accounts, and shopkeepers laugh if you suggest paying with one. You can't even pay rent or bills via check. Rather, you pay everyone online via your bank account, and the process is so normalized that all companies have a special ID number that you're supposed to use for the purpose; that number is included on all billing statements
Also, Norwegian banks have introduced a security measure that has somewhat replaced the PIN. When you sign up for an account, you receive a small electronic device, the size of a keychain fob. This device has a button and a small LCD screen; pushing the button produces a random 6-digit number on the display, and also transmits that number to some gatekeeping system. You enter that number when logging into your account or attempting to send money somewhere, and the gatekeeper checks to see if what you entered matches the number it received. Once used, the number is worthless, and you have to push the button for a new number for your next transaction. It took me a little bit to understand the system at first.
1 comment:
They use the same key fob device for realtors to access the MLS, and I've seen gov't contractors for big companies use those as well. Seems like a good idea, unless you're slow at typing. The ones here time out each code after a minute or so, so you'd have to be quick on the draw I'd imagine.
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