Don't come crying when you drop your phone (or it's stolen), and your every means of communication, payment, proof of identity/vaccination etc is completely lost.mattyc wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 11:37 pm
If you’re not willing to keep up technology, you’ll get left behind. Simple.
I haven’t used an Opal card for years - just tapping my phone on and off, never had a single fare issue and always made my trains.
I know I’ll get flamed down for this post, but just saying it as it is. It’s 2022, technology is king, adapt or get left behind.
It is foolhardy to rely so heavily on one device for so much, when they are so vulnerable to damage, theft and planned obsolescence. Wallets aren't exactly thiefproof, but losing your wallet doesn't mean losing your means of communication, nor do you have to spend a grand on a new one whenever Apple says so.
As already pointed out, the industry supporting EFTPOS systems is worth trillions. We all pay for that - sometimes only card users, sometimes everyone pays a few cents more. I notice debit and credit card users (especially AMEX) are still flogged a few percent on many purchases. I also notice that card-only businesses are not offering discounts for the supposed "savings" from not handling cash.
I have no issue with technology, particularly where it offers redundancy to conventional technology if something goes wrong. But when we try to reinvent the wheel, and simply use technology as a means of advancing rampant, unsustainable consumerism, no. No one, except Silicon Valley, benefits from the rapid upgrade cycle needed for us to be so reliant on smartphones.
Tap-cards for buses may be soooooo 2006, but it's effortless. Having to go through the motions with the phone just to get on and off, seems a retrograde step.