Maybe I should go back to paying off my credit card by cheque

They have been talking about this for years

IT WONT HAPPEN without specific customer opt-in
IT WONT!

Oh, they already track your purchases, even if they aren't doing anything with the data.

It's just a question of marrying the two sets of data and making it work. Not easy, but much more doable these days.

They will slip this through in one of those, "we've updated our terms and conditions..." messages that is in small print.

I rarely say this but I see major privacy concerns here. I also question the legality of a CC company sharing your purchase history. They must be (hopefully) bound by some type of privacy act, outside of their own TOS, that doesn't allow for this.

I agree Demaestro, they really need to watch the privacy issues around this.

I'm not at all keen on this idea.

They must be (hopefully) bound by some type of privacy act, outside of their own TOS, that doesn't allow for this.

Depends on the country of course. In Europe they couldn't partner with an ad network to do this unless you explicitly opted in to that clause, not hiding it in the small print. Of course if they set up their own ad networks then it would be a totally different matter.

... a weight-loss ad to a person who just swiped their card at a fast-food chain.

Because anyone who swings through a MickeyD's has simply got to be overweight.

What ad's would I see if I swipe my card at a bar? Al-Anon?

What ad's would I see if I swipe my card at a bar? Al-Anon?

That's funny.

Seriously though, where do you see the weight loss ads right after you buy a Big Mac? This has got to do with online shopping. Even then, I know have a Visa and Master Card, but I never really had to access visa.com or mastercard.com or any of their networks.

Where exactly are they going to display the ads? SMS people maybe?

Is there a link unto a page documenting this VISA/MC move?

Their plans, if implemented, would represent not only a technological feat—tying people's Internet lives with shopping activities—but also an erosion of the idea of anonymity on the Web.

What a bunch of rubbish, anonymity on the WEB isn't the issue, it's the WATCHING PEOPLE in real life to USE THE WEB to separate them from their money that's sickening (e.g. unhealthy).

The problem isn't the internet, it's the clandestine data gathering outside the web. The internet is just another place they know your eyes are and they want your eyes on them.

Where do I sign up to say H*** NO ?

(to be very clear - I hate flyers that come to my door already but this is more like cameras in my house to see what I eat so that the flyers are about what I'm out of, just no.)

According to ad executives briefed on some of the ideas, a holy grail would be to show, for instance, a weight-loss ad to a person who just swiped their card at a fast-food chain—then track whether that person bought the advertised products.

They have NO RIGHT to see what I buy for the purpose of enriching themselves, it's beyond insulting. I wish I could stick the ad execs in the hamster cage and see which treaty they run for. The "holy grail" would be to be respected, if I say "don't spam me" it should be honored, we're not livestock nor do we need our weaknesses prayed upon. The line is, and must remain, solidly drawn when privacy is ignored imo, the breach is offline in this case - the recording of your purchases with intent to use them against you just to see how much more money they can shake out of you.

That line has already been crossed.

AOL is being sued (along with Scanscout and Brightcove) for tracking AOL customers offline by matching up store loyalty cards, credit card data and online activity. A class action suit was filed a few months ago:

Case 1:11-cv-11145-WGY

Filed 06/28/11

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

SANDRA PERSON BURNS, an
Individual, on Behalf of Herself
and All Others Similarly Situated,
Plaintiff,

v.

AOL INC.; BRIGHTCOVE INC.;
and SCANSCOUT, INC.,

Hey, don't make me think! Making me think reflects poor design!

Visa/MC should figure out what I need or want, order it for me, have it shipped . . and send my parents the bill!

Time to start paying cash for everything

goog wallet anyone?

I find the fact that they are willing to spend all this money to attempt to set this up when their basic premise is so flawed.

The assumption that every purchase on a single Visa or MC is a purchase for a single person, or even for the card holder is a fail. Typically multiple people will make use of a single card.

I think the last 10 or more purchases on my card were all for my son. I would hate to see the ads I get for his purchases. A Xbox live membership, adding Xbox live points to his account, Netflix subscription, A year worth of bus passes, and some clothes from Bench.

None of these were for me...... I would love to hear how they plan on using that history to effectively advertise to me.

Price comparision websites already sell your information back to your current mortgage / loan / credit card provider if you use the site to find a better deal. This isn't much different, although it is a step in a whole new direction in consumer profiling.

Imagine a bunch of p*rn ads following you around as you deliver a client presentation...

Maybe worse during a presentation - credit repair ads.

Time to start paying cash for everything
-ByronM

<paranoid-mode>
If you're in the US, you'll have to pay using coins -- the bills all have serial numbers that can be tracked from when you cash your paycheck or make a withdrawal from your bank account, to the store where you shop, to their bank deposit.
</paranoid-mode>

As a consumer: Sucks

As a marketeer: OMG; I'm salivating! I hope facebook buys it; they aren't as nasty to deal with as the adwords people...

Imagine a bunch of p*rn ads following you around as you deliver a client presentation...

I was wondering how they match the web session to the card holder. Use somebody elses machine to pay your bill and they get followed by ads based on your spending?
You could really stich somebody up like that.