Where are you on the cash to phone continuum?

[bigtoughralf]

One can opine all day and sound smart. Reality is different.

Plenty of cash-only places I know have been operating that way without issue for years. National governments aren't omnipotent, not even the NSA-CIA deep government.

[Dukasaur]

I know there's a lot of grey areas when it comes to apps which are both tied to a card and on your phone.

What I mean was... when you approach the cashier, what is in your hand? A little plastic rectangle or a big heavy thing with a battery inside?

[bigtoughralf]

What if my phone is compact and light?

[mookiemcgee]

I know there's a lot of grey areas when it comes to apps which are both tied to a card and on your phone.

What I mean was... when you approach the cashier, what is in your hand? A little plastic rectangle or a big heavy thing with a battery inside?

I don't use phone often, but i do from time to time. Gas stations sometimes, just easier to pull my phone off the charger than digging around for my wallet. If it's like a grocery store or something I mostly use a physical card.

[Dukasaur]

See, I'm the opposite. It's easier to just flip open my wallet and pull out a card than to find my phone, probably have to take it off the charger, and go through the list of apps and wait for the appropriate one to boot up.

[mookiemcgee]

See, I'm the opposite. It's easier to just flip open my wallet and pull out a card than to find my phone, probably have to take it off the charger, and go through the list of apps and wait for the appropriate one to boot up.

Iphone/apple pay makes it pretty easy, grab your phone and double click the side button. then you just waive it by the touchless payment sign. No need to go digging through apps. In my car I have wireless stand charger on my dashboard so the phone is just right there to grab.

Do most gas stations in canada have contactless, or do you have to put your card into the slot?

[jimboston]

I use an App for gas at a chain in Mass/New England.

They give $0.10 off per gallon… but $$$ comes direct from your bank so they don’t pay credit card fees.

I get the $0.10/gallon and a free drink once in awhile.

The app is fast enough for gas but slow when you want to use it in store to buy other stuff.

I don’t generally like to give vendor apps direct access to my bank account. I know they have fraud protection and stuff, but I still am wary. So I have my main account and then I have another account at a different bank. I only use the 2nd account for things like this and this or when I buy stuff at an online Vendor that’s not a mainstream vendor… this second account is also tied to my Paypal and Venmo. I keep limited funds in that account, so if it is ever compromised I’m limiting my potential losses.

[Dukasaur]

See, I'm the opposite. It's easier to just flip open my wallet and pull out a card than to find my phone, probably have to take it off the charger, and go through the list of apps and wait for the appropriate one to boot up.

Iphone/apple pay makes it pretty easy, grab your phone and double click the side button. then you just waive it by the touchless payment sign. No need to go digging through apps. In my car I have wireless stand charger on my dashboard so the phone is just right there to grab.

Do most gas stations in canada have contactless, or do you have to put your card into the slot?

Generally speaking they have contactless if you install their app. I still put my card in the slot. Get enough "low memory" warnings from my phone without cluttering it up with more apps...

[mookiemcgee]

See, I'm the opposite. It's easier to just flip open my wallet and pull out a card than to find my phone, probably have to take it off the charger, and go through the list of apps and wait for the appropriate one to boot up.

Iphone/apple pay makes it pretty easy, grab your phone and double click the side button. then you just waive it by the touchless payment sign. No need to go digging through apps. In my car I have wireless stand charger on my dashboard so the phone is just right there to grab.

Do most gas stations in canada have contactless, or do you have to put your card into the slot?

Generally speaking they have contactless if you install their app. I still put my card in the slot. Get enough "low memory" warnings from my phone without cluttering it up with more apps...

Here the contactless payment thing is universal (if they have it), you if see this symbol you just waive your card/phone or whatever.

[jimboston]

See, I'm the opposite. It's easier to just flip open my wallet and pull out a card than to find my phone, probably have to take it off the charger, and go through the list of apps and wait for the appropriate one to boot up.

Iphone/apple pay makes it pretty easy, grab your phone and double click the side button. then you just waive it by the touchless payment sign. No need to go digging through apps. In my car I have wireless stand charger on my dashboard so the phone is just right there to grab.

Do most gas stations in canada have contactless, or do you have to put your card into the slot?

Generally speaking they have contactless if you install their app. I still put my card in the slot. Get enough "low memory" warnings from my phone without cluttering it up with more apps...

Here the contactless payment thing is universal (if they have it), you if see this symbol you just waive your card/phone or whatever.

It seems ‘dangerous’ that this exists.

Someone with a reader in their pocket could get near me (like on a tight subway) and ‘read’ the data from my cards in my wallet.

I don’t have a ‘lined’ wallet, I know they market these that supposedly prevent this type of nefarious reading, though I don;t know how valid they are… I also haven’t seen one in a wallet size/type I like. I have a very small wallet, most of those ‘card protector’ ones I’ve seen are normal/large.

[KoolBak]

Your phone should be locked. If you don't secure your phone, you shouldn't use this service

In my case, I have facial and fingerprint, then hafta open app and approve the transaction. No danger.

I never carry my wallet. I get cash back on my phone purchases. Just checked and I've gotten over $400 back in the last 12 months on groceries alone.

But of course I use Google pay on my Android phone cause apple sucks ass I really hate them for their proprietary antics in business, music, etc etc

[bigtoughralf]

It seems ‘dangerous’ that this exists.

Someone with a reader in their pocket could get near me (like on a tight subway) and ‘read’ the data from my cards in my wallet.

That is theoretically possible with bank cards although not common. It's impossible with a phone.

[mookiemcgee]

See, I'm the opposite. It's easier to just flip open my wallet and pull out a card than to find my phone, probably have to take it off the charger, and go through the list of apps and wait for the appropriate one to boot up.

Iphone/apple pay makes it pretty easy, grab your phone and double click the side button. then you just waive it by the touchless payment sign. No need to go digging through apps. In my car I have wireless stand charger on my dashboard so the phone is just right there to grab.

Do most gas stations in canada have contactless, or do you have to put your card into the slot?

Generally speaking they have contactless if you install their app. I still put my card in the slot. Get enough "low memory" warnings from my phone without cluttering it up with more apps...

Here the contactless payment thing is universal (if they have it), you if see this symbol you just waive your card/phone or whatever.

It seems ‘dangerous’ that this exists.

Someone with a reader in their pocket could get near me (like on a tight subway) and ‘read’ the data from my cards in my wallet.

I don’t have a ‘lined’ wallet, I know they market these that supposedly prevent this type of nefarious reading, though I don;t know how valid they are… I also haven’t seen one in a wallet size/type I like. I have a very small wallet, most of those ‘card protector’ ones I’ve seen are normal/large.

This 'scam' has been in existence for over a decade already , and there is a similar scam for card readers (the old fashioned kind where you put your card in). The solution has been in place for like 20 years too... credit card companies take all the liability so users are safe. That's why they say you should always use credit not debit, because you can refuse a fake charge from a scammer with zero liability.

[jimboston]

It seems ‘dangerous’ that this exists.

Someone with a reader in their pocket could get near me (like on a tight subway) and ‘read’ the data from my cards in my wallet.

That is theoretically possible with bank cards although not common. It's impossible with a phone.

It’s the cards I’m low-key worried about…

Though your phone can get hacked.

[jimboston]

See, I'm the opposite. It's easier to just flip open my wallet and pull out a card than to find my phone, probably have to take it off the charger, and go through the list of apps and wait for the appropriate one to boot up.

Iphone/apple pay makes it pretty easy, grab your phone and double click the side button. then you just waive it by the touchless payment sign. No need to go digging through apps. In my car I have wireless stand charger on my dashboard so the phone is just right there to grab.

Do most gas stations in canada have contactless, or do you have to put your card into the slot?

Generally speaking they have contactless if you install their app. I still put my card in the slot. Get enough "low memory" warnings from my phone without cluttering it up with more apps...

Here the contactless payment thing is universal (if they have it), you if see this symbol you just waive your card/phone or whatever.

It seems ‘dangerous’ that this exists.

Someone with a reader in their pocket could get near me (like on a tight subway) and ‘read’ the data from my cards in my wallet.

I don’t have a ‘lined’ wallet, I know they market these that supposedly prevent this type of nefarious reading, though I don;t know how valid they are… I also haven’t seen one in a wallet size/type I like. I have a very small wallet, most of those ‘card protector’ ones I’ve seen are normal/large.

This 'scam' has been in existence for over a decade already , and there is a similar scam for card readers (the old fashioned kind where you put your card in). The solution has been in place for like 20 years too... credit card companies take all the liability so users are safe. That's why they say you should always use credit not debit, because you can refuse a fake charge from a scammer with zero liability.

I never use debit. The closest thing is the App that pulls directly from my account for that one company.

[mookiemcgee]

It seems ‘dangerous’ that this exists.

Someone with a reader in their pocket could get near me (like on a tight subway) and ‘read’ the data from my cards in my wallet.

That is theoretically possible with bank cards although not common. It's impossible with a phone.

It’s the cards I’m low-key worried about…

Though your phone can get hacked.

It's possible, but exceedingly unlikely anymore. Most of the cases nowadays are because boomers did something exceedingly stupid (phishing scams mostly). Actual 'hacks' of phones without using the 'user is an idiot' backdoor are very very rare now.

[jimboston]

It seems ‘dangerous’ that this exists.

Someone with a reader in their pocket could get near me (like on a tight subway) and ‘read’ the data from my cards in my wallet.

That is theoretically possible with bank cards although not common. It's impossible with a phone.

It’s the cards I’m low-key worried about…

Though your phone can get hacked.

It's possible, but exceedingly unlikely anymore. Most of the cases nowadays are because boomers did something exceedingly stupid (phishing scams mostly). Actual 'hacks' of phones without using the 'user is an idiot' backdoor are very very rare now.

I think your right… I’ve never been a victim despite being called a “boomer” by my kids.

That said I’ve heard that if you take your iPhone to China you have to basically put the thing into airplane mode because you start getting all kinds of hack attempts. Again… very very anecdotal and not sure how true it is currently.

I do know several years ago my wife’s company would issue special phones (and/or notebooks) to employees visiting China for work… they were instructed to leave their regular phones (notebooks) home and only use these, and these devices were collected upon return and wiped to prevent virus’ from getting into her work network.

I agree risks are low and there are protections… but I usually wait a few years after somethjng new comes out just to see if there are kinks.

i’m not on the razor edge of tech anymore

[mookiemcgee]

It seems ‘dangerous’ that this exists.

Someone with a reader in their pocket could get near me (like on a tight subway) and ‘read’ the data from my cards in my wallet.

That is theoretically possible with bank cards although not common. It's impossible with a phone.

It’s the cards I’m low-key worried about…

Though your phone can get hacked.

It's possible, but exceedingly unlikely anymore. Most of the cases nowadays are because boomers did something exceedingly stupid (phishing scams mostly). Actual 'hacks' of phones without using the 'user is an idiot' backdoor are very very rare now.

I think your right… I’ve never been a victim despite being called a “boomer” by my kids.

That said I’ve heard that if you take your iPhone to China you have to basically put the thing into airplane mode because you start getting all kinds of hack attempts. Again… very very anecdotal and not sure how true it is currently.

I do know several years ago my wife’s company would issue special phones (and/or notebooks) to employees visiting China for work… they were instructed to leave their regular phones (notebooks) home and only use these, and these devices were collected upon return and wiped to prevent virus’ from getting into her work network.

I agree risks are low and there are protections… but I usually wait a few years after somethjng new comes out just to see if there are kinks.

i’m not on the razor edge of tech anymore

This makes sense,I think of it this way. In USA, your carrier&NSA probably have alot of backdoors to your phone they just don't use them (openly) and don't exploit them. If you are in China, there is no NSA or your carrier, and they are more than happy to steal/exploit westerners (cus f*ck em) you are giving that same vector of attack to the carrier (that is effectively the chinese gov't). It's my strong suspicion that is what your wifes employer is worried about (you hear about similar things happening with Huawei, and tiktok where american gov't agencies are either outright banning or warning that China has built in backdoors). Now you could leave network connections off, and only use wifi... but alot of chinese public wifi is similarly exploitable.

Easier to just give you a 'china only' phone, that you only use for communication and not your personal banking lol. That's my take anyway, China is at least as sophisticated as the USG is at spying/having backdoors into your devices that connect to the internet.

[mookiemcgee]

It seems ‘dangerous’ that this exists.

Someone with a reader in their pocket could get near me (like on a tight subway) and ‘read’ the data from my cards in my wallet.

That is theoretically possible with bank cards although not common. It's impossible with a phone.

It’s the cards I’m low-key worried about…

Though your phone can get hacked.

It's possible, but exceedingly unlikely anymore. Most of the cases nowadays are because boomers did something exceedingly stupid (phishing scams mostly). Actual 'hacks' of phones without using the 'user is an idiot' backdoor are very very rare now.

I think your right… I’ve never been a victim despite being called a “boomer” by my kids.

For the record, I've also called you a boomer.

[jimboston]

For the record, I've also called you a boomer.

Yes you have.

It’s not accurate when you do it either.

It’s funnier (to me) when my kids do it… because I don’t know how to use Tik-Tok or Snapchat.
Then when their phone isn’t working or their computer can’t connect or the printer isn’t printing or the cable is down, who do they call to fix it?

[mookiemcgee]

For the record, I've also called you a boomer.

I don’t know how to use Tik-Tok or Snapchat.

lol, Boomer.

[jonesthecurl]

I use wampum.

[mookiemcgee]

I use wampum.

https://opensea.io/collection/digital-wampum

[jimboston]

For the record, I've also called you a boomer.

I don’t know how to use Tik-Tok or Snapchat.

lol, Boomer.

I “snap” my kids by texting them pictures.

I also call all these crap social media platforms “InstaSnap”.

When I first started calling the app(s) “InstaSnap” my daughters would often ‘correct’ me… “You mean SnapChat, dad.”… thinking that I had made a mistake. It took awhile for them to realize that I was just calling all the apps “InstaSnap” interchangeably on purpose.

Occasionally when I say “InstaSnap” to someone they will still attempt to ‘correct’ me…. my response is always “Same thing.”

Me: “My daughter showed me that stupid video on InstaSnap.”
Person: “You mean TikTok.”
Me: “Same thing.”

Most people get it or drop it at this point.

Every once in awhile some know-it-all “Karen” like JP4 will continue…

Me: “My daughter showed me that stupid video on InstaSnap.”
Karen: “You mean TikTok.”
Me: “Same thing.”
Karen: “No that’s a different App. There’s Instagram, SnapChat, and TikTok is for video sharing.”
Me: “Yeah… like I said same thing.”

Some will even persist past that… in which case I have to explain that I use none of these Apps and don’t differentiate between them because they are all equally dumb IMHO, and I expect that in a couple years two of them will be gone and there will be new Apps I don’t care about.

[mookiemcgee]

My Dad in his 70s calls it (referring to pretty much any form of communication that isn't a phone call or email) FacebookTime.

Boomers gonna boom