Thursday, April 19, 2012

We Don't Need No Stinking Wallet

CNN says most experts believe average people will be paying with their phones by 2020.  In seven years, they predict that some sort of swiping or verification scanning will replace credit cards.  And they may be right.  It makes sense that credit cards and identity theft will force people and financial institutions to go through some big changes in the next few years.

However, as we still learn shocking stories of how our information is stored unencrypted on phones, and the many ways that developers and markets lack regulation and industry standards, we are at the mercy of the dumbest app on our phone.  Let's face it, stupid apps are here to stay, and people will have to become more tech savvy to protect themselves, so there are some risks.

I wonder what the future of cash will be.  Because it's not moving currency, its value is in its physical presence. Of course, that's also its weakness, because once cash is taken it's virtually untraceable. Government would benefit from a cashless society, because then our financial transactions would be stored ledger style for their reading enjoyment.  Thieves and hackers can manipulate numbers in a database, where cash cannot be altered.

Just thoughts.  It's neat and all, but I have seen such little respect for privacy and security that I doubt I'll be taking part until I'm forced to.

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