There are already secure solutions today. When i make an online payment with my visa card with a new vendor based in my country, i get directed to the card issuer's website where i need to enter a one time code generated by putting the card in a keypad (which my bank issued), entering a starter code and my pincode and then reading the generated number off the keypad's display. Without the physical card and pincode no purchase from a new vendor is possible. In the physical store i need to input card and pin to use the secure chip on the card to sign the transaction.
Of course, then i go to the US and any random hobo on the street can charge me with just the card number and a scribble. The problem isn't that credit card companies don't know how to get rid of card fraud, it's that their customers like the convenience too much and won't let them do it.
The same thing for identity theft. In my country opening a bank account or getting a loan requires an id card, which is government issued and contains a digital certificate protected by a personal pin. Unless someone steals that card and knows your pin, they can't steal your identity.
These are easily solved problems. The reason they're not solved in the US is because the people won't allow them to be, or at least banks and government perceive it as such.
Of course, then i go to the US and any random hobo on the street can charge me with just the card number and a scribble. The problem isn't that credit card companies don't know how to get rid of card fraud, it's that their customers like the convenience too much and won't let them do it.
The same thing for identity theft. In my country opening a bank account or getting a loan requires an id card, which is government issued and contains a digital certificate protected by a personal pin. Unless someone steals that card and knows your pin, they can't steal your identity.
These are easily solved problems. The reason they're not solved in the US is because the people won't allow them to be, or at least banks and government perceive it as such.