# how effective are RFID wallets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2014, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276 "2014-02-01T11:59:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276/21 "2014-02-03T12:41:24Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I think US-side banks have experimented with chipped credit cards for a while. Wasn’t there one - maybe an Amex variant? - that had the chip visible in a transparent section of the card? Yes, I have 3 Amex cards that are transparent. The chip is clearly displayed. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276/22 "2014-02-03T13:23:09Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I find this logic quite shaky. Corporations have done many things that turned out to be stupid because they didn’t think it through. The assumption that scanning RFID data is not a threat could well be blown sky-high because some Russian or Korean mob figures out a way to do it cheaply and efficiently. I’m not claiming it’s ironclad _proof_ of the security of RFID cards, merely _evidence._ Banks have a lot to lose if the cards they issue have a reputation for being defrauded; if it happens a lot merchants will stop accepting them, and consumers will stop carrying them. Given this, it seems _likely_ to me that before banks started issuing RFID cards, they probably spent a considerable sum of time money researching the issue and concluded that there wasn’t any new risk that was significnat enough to bother mentioning to cardholders. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276/23 "2014-02-03T16:30:02Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_York](#): > > I use one of these aluma wallets mainly to keep my credit cards from bending and splitting as they do in leather wallets. > [http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BLUE-Aluma-Wallet-RFID-Scan-proof-blocker-Credit-Card-Case-Holder-Cover-/151165904911?pt=AU\_Adult\_Unisex\_Accessories&hash=item233230a80f&\_uhb=1](http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BLUE-Aluma-Wallet-RFID-Scan-proof-blocker-Credit-Card-Case-Holder-Cover-/151165904911?pt=AU_Adult_Unisex_Accessories&hash=item233230a80f&_uhb=1) > I was wondering just how effective it is at blocking the scanners. Does anyone have any test results I could look at? I can’t comment on that specific wallet. Several years ago I bought [this one](http://www.amazon.com/Travelon-Blocking-Tri-Fold-Wallet-Size/dp/B001CZP0E8) and it seems to work. I had an opportunity to play with it at an Oyster topup machine at an otherwise empty tube station in London. The machine could detect Oyster cards in my companion’s regular wallet, but not in my RFID blocking one. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276/24 "2014-02-03T22:19:10Z")
I have an RFID key card to open the secure doors at my place of employment. When I place the key card in an ordinary leather wallet I can just hold my butt close to the receiver by the door and the door will open. When I place the same key card in a secure foil lined wallet I am not able to open the door. So yes the wallets do block RFID signals. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276/25 "2014-02-04T00:58:32Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > I have an RFID key card to open the secure doors at my place of employment. > When I place the key card in an ordinary leather wallet I can just hold my butt close to the receiver by the door and the door will open. > When I place the same key card in a secure foil lined wallet I am not able to open the door. > So yes the wallets do block RFID signals. As an aside, I used to do that too - a buddy claimed that the scanner actually scanned \*butts because no two were alike 😃 (\*well, ok he used a different word) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276/26 "2014-02-04T04:52:54Z")
If you buy an RFID-blocking wallet or sleeve, read reviews first. Some seem to work while others don’t. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276/27 "2014-02-04T09:48:16Z")
20mm is kinda thick. I was hoping it to be the size of a cigarette holder. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276/28 "2014-02-04T11:23:52Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > 20mm is kinda thick. I was hoping it to be the size of a cigarette holder. I used to use the Umbra Bungee case. It is about 1/2 the thickness of the other aluminium wallets and holds up to 6 cards. I can’t speak to how well it blocks RFID but some reviews speak to the fact that security cards have to be removed from it to work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-effective-are-rfid-wallets/680276.md?page=1)