There’s nothing in it for me if I switch, so I called to tell them I would be keeping my old card. Although it was slightly difficult to tell through the language barrier, the obviously off-shored support representative seemed nervous; he behaved as if he could not imagine why anyone would not want this new card, and insisted that if I were to do the research by comparing the two on citicards.com, the choice would be obvious.

Well, the choice was obvious, but it wasn’t the one Citibank seems to be pushing. There was nothing about the new card posted on citicards.com; only Google turned up a few perplexed bloggers, some speculation, complaints, and warning about the unusual behavior–and one post providing a summarized comparison:

The primary difference in new “World” card (is that short for New World Order?) is a feature called MasterCard® PayPass®, which uses Radio-frequency identification (RFID) so that instead of sliding your card, you “tap” it on a machine at checkout.

So, what’s the big deal? Who wouldn’t love the convenience of their new PayPass® credit card? Well, there is actually lot more at stake here than you may realize; a much larger operation is moving into place world-wide and it’s all part of their master plan. Convenience is merely an enticement; they need you to adopt this for a much different reason.

UPDATE: I have to admit, even after this rant I ended up keeping my Citibank World Card. A few months later I also inquired about raising my credit limit and they obliged–so they’ve been good to me. I just won’t keep my card on my body while traveling. To be clear, unlike a lot of the other posts you’ll find when Googling this card, mine wasn’t meant to up-sell you for an affiliate offer to buy the card so I can earn a commission, or to discourage anyone from doing business with Citibank; they are not the only ones implementing the MasterCard PayPass technology. It is more about about an emerging global pattern of RFID tracking implemented in human beings. The point is today it is RFID cards and GPS cell phones, in the future it will be RFID chips the size of a grain of rice or smaller implanted under the skin. Google it and see for yourself.