@SabreDC: Yes, Tbax929 got it, they may have changed it but a lot of people (for some reason) have not opted to renew early, and are carrying around their SSN on their DL.

@SacraBos: They use your driver's license to auto-fill hunting/fishing licenses in Ohio - some places do anyway.

@TorrentFreak: Actualy, your social security number is your unique identifier for the Social Security Administration ONLY. Not everyone has one. In fact, federal law prevents it from legally being required as an identifier in any other agency.

It's no different than having a driver's license number at the DMV. Except with National ID, it will be the same number.

@TorrentFreak: You're 100% free not to participate in it. Just don't expect the privilege of operating your vehicle on government-maintained roads, sending your children to government-run schools, receive government-provided benefits like Social Security, and so on. No one is forcing you to get one.

This is one step away from microchips. Sorry...NO.

And to whoever said SSNs are included on driver's licenses: they aren't in Texas. My SSN and DL# don't even have two consecutive digits in common. The only difference from having someone steal your license and looking in the phone book is your DL#. This number is, at least in Texas, fairly useless when it comes to ID theft.

@SabreDC:

I can't speak for other states, but AZ is removing SSNs from DLs when they renew. The problem in AZ is that your DL doesn't expire until you turn 65 (I think). So it's going to be a looooong process.

@JamieSueAustin:

Mine, too. (But you can now request to have it changed to a different DL number).

ACH transactions offer nearly the same protections as debit/check card transactions as far as fraud goes, which is what you appear to be referring to in your post.

Per Reg E and NACHA, you have 60 days from the date of transaction to request reversal of an ACH debit (or credit, if you so chose). You need only complete an affidavit to indemnify the financial institution.

The bonus for ACH reversals is they actually take the money back from the merchant. In a debit/check card transaction, more times than not the bank just credits your account and takes it as a loss. Merchant has no accountability when that happens.

To note, any financial institution with an ACH processing system worth a damn can place what's called a Company ID block. This is essentially an identifier for the merchant. Once it's blocked, anything coming into your account with that company ID is automatically returned as unauthorized. This kind of block is usually good for 6 months to one year and you may need to "redo" it periodically.

Now, I may be biased because I work for a financial services software company that owns and supports an ACH processing product, but also having worked with debit/check card for years, I can easily say ACH is as good, if not better than debit/check card.

In austin, and neither store with an Austin address is terribly close to work or home, or I might have trialed this.

O yeah btw, we already have a national ID, its called your social security number. Even though many years ago it was written on the card that it was not to be used for identification purposes.

I don't care how easy it makes it for the government I won;t participate in it. I don't trust them enough and neither should you. This is how we lose our liberties, one small piece at a time. They just keep getting eroded. What happens if a lot of people like myself refuse to be "included" in this national ID effort? What then? It's bullshit that the government is okay with invasion of our privacy and it's even more ridiculous that you are fine with it. The line must drawn somewhere and I'm drawing it here.

Your point is well taken, however, one should look at the total cost of card ownership before getting fixated on cash-back deals (Discover, call your office...).

The only mandated information that must be on the national ID card is name, DOB, gender, address, DL number, a photograph, and a signature.

The difference is that the national ID card will require a standard process for obtaining, instead of having each state dictate what paperwork is necessary. For example, Virginia residents need to provide proof of citizenship, proof of legal presence, and proof of residence to get a DL. In PA, at least when I had a DL, you only needed legal presence and residence. National ID will require all three documents nationwide (which would equate to SSA card, birth certificate, and a utility bill).

Everyone has misconceptions that national ID will have your fingerprints and retina scans on it and other biometrics, or some hokey stuff like that. REAL ID is the Microsoft Vista equivalent: all misconceptions without people actually knowing what it entails.

Did you know that almost every state already meets the REAL ID standards for what must be on the card? The only problems is that each state has to redo how it gives out cards and how other state agencies keep track of your records. It won't change for YOU at all.

Like what? Your height? Your eye color? Whether or not you wear glasses? It's not like your DL contains your SSN or anything on it.

So what happens if you default on a payment and suddenly your drivers license is suddenly invalid...

this is very evil, nwo, nanny state, big brother, 1984 etc

@JGKojak: win

@jeffbone: Why does everyone advertize this as though those $100 yearly (or more) AMEX fees are immaterial? Lets see - $25 to fill up, 3% cash back ($0.75). ~134 fillups a year to pay for that fee, thats roughly a fillup every 2.75 days.

Obviously, you use the card for other things, and thats great. I'm just saying, those cash back things arent just free money.

None of your information on your DL can be used much against you, unless you live in a state where your DL # IS your SSN, in which case you're kind of SOL to begin with. The people panicking about "BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL MY INFO!" please consider the fact that 1) If a criminal wants to get ahold of your private information, there are a ton of easier ways to do it than physically confiscating your DL (and really, they'd rather have your credit cards), and 2) no information is stored on the ID card that isn't already there, as the article stated, geniuses.
If you're that paranoid about Fraud/ID theft, be proactive and get some protection in place. I'd bet your CC company offers some kind of coverage, if not your bank. Wouldn't recommend lifelock though (and if you've been a consumerist reader for a few months, you probably already know why). In addition, as most consumerists know, you can put a fraud alert on your credit bureau reports for free, which would alert you to any changes/hits to your report.

Or you could just use cash, everywhere, forever, and never worry about it, ever.

As Norm McDonald used to say...

It's all part of the plans for a major, major disaster.

(e) The prohibition provided by Subsection (b)(1) does not apply to a financial institution or a business if the information is accessed and used only for purposes of identification verification of an individual or check verification at the point of sale for a purchase of a good or service by check.

Maybe they're interpreting this as an exception?

@Wormfather is Wormfather: Do they make shopping fun again?

@huadpe: Ah Ha, but I have "Verified by Semen". A new company that...well, you probobly get the idea.

As for the identity theft angle, it says no info is stored on the card. So presumably NPC simply links your driver's license number to your bank account info. While people who directly get access to NPC's systems might be able to get both pieces of information, assuming this system is designed right, nobody (including the gas station) is going to be able to get any more information from your license card itself than they already do today.

Hey NPC and Consumerist, thank you for helping us help you help us all!

Besides, I already have two cards in my wallet that refund either 3 or 5% per gallon depending on where I buy gasoline. At any price over $1.00/gallon, I'm still money ahead of this program.

So, either that has changed (yeah!) or the are operating illegally... Please let it be the former...