Cashless society......problem for many.

[newfhouse]

For me, the most direct benefit is that I’m longer tempted to drop into a sweetshop to spend 80-90p on a bar of chocolate or a bag of crisps on the way to or from work almost daily.

I have the opposite problem since they upgraded our vending machines at work. Now it’s just a wave of my phone for instant unnecessary calories.

 

[oldwheels]

I’ve been very happy with the app of my former employer, Bank of Scotland.

I have no problems using my BofS account on line but the now Virgin Money [ who took over the Clydesdale ] is a right pain. More security perhaps but I have to log in on my Macbook or IPad as well as my phone so I have to have two working devices at the same time to get in. I can do a fair bit on the phone alone but the keypad is a bit small for my fingers so I tend to avoid it.

 

[Sharky]

One aspect of being cashless was appreciated this afternoon. We took our daughter to Broadstairs and went into the car park. Now she has a Blue Badge, so normally this would be free. Unfortunately I had taken her out the day before in our other car and left the badge in the wrong car.

So had no cash on me to buy a ticket, so started to panic. But it was one of those car parks using the "Ring Go" app. Luckily this was all set up on my mobile and was easily able to buy a ticket.

 

[Drago]

As I say, she would appear to have been treated harshly.... but.... if we all circumvent "the rules" by setting up "our own little system" I doubt that would end well.

Fortunately, we live in a country where the lady in question has a way to challenge the decision (ie an Employment Tribunal).

Absolutely. I don't condone her actions, merely point out that the legal threshold for a gross misconduct, and thus legal grounds for dismissal, appears not to have been met by some margin.

 

[Eziemnaik]

Gonna sound like a luddite but cashless is cancer - from obvious points like dissociation of holding and spending money, to purely theoretical as what's stopping future powers that be from turning it off for undesirable members of society.

 

[oldwheels]

Gonna sound like a luddite but cashless is cancer - from obvious points like dissociation of holding and spending money, to purely theoretical as what's stopping future powers that be from turning it off for undesirable members of society.

Undesirable could mean those they do not like rather than antisocial.

 

[Eziemnaik]

Exactly what I meant.
It could be minorities, political opponents, people accused of crime etc.
Once the money is fully digital AND controlled by central power this scenario is not unthinkable.

On another note, the other day Peter Hitchens correctly wrote that a lost phone or card could rake up huge bill with 100£ contactless limit.

 

[dodgy]

On another note, the other day Peter Hitchens correctly wrote that a lost phone or card could rake up huge bill with 100£ contactless limit.

Nope. Unless you can overcome the fingerprint sensor or faceid. Which are both significantly harder to crack than a 4 digit PIN.

 

[Eziemnaik]

Nope. Unless you can overcome the fingerprint sensor or faceid. Which are both significantly harder to crack than a 4 digit PIN.

Fair play, I was under impression phone NFC works exactly like card one - no id check up to certain limit

 

[nickyboy]

This has a knock on effect as well, though: the service is centralised, usually in a large town, so employment moves from smaller towns to one big one, accelerating the economic issues in rural areas.

This may change of course, as the technology now exists to have call centre operatives to work from home so it may well end up being outsourced as "gig" work...

I agree that small town banks closing has a detrimental effect on these small towns' economies
But technology also has the opposite effect. Lots of people in the "knowledge economy" can work wherever they like, which usually means at home and not where the big call centres are. I'm an example of this. I do everything "virtually" and this means I can live in my little market town (in which two of the four banks have closed). But I can then spend my money in my little market town. In the old days I would have had to commute somewhere and thus spend my money there

 

[nickyboy]

In my view, appallingly handled and she should not have been sacked.

Agree. It reflects extremely poorly on the employer who should have handled it with much more sensitivity

 

[Alex321]

Fair play, I was under impression phone NFC works exactly like card one - no id check up to certain limit

You have to have the phone unlocked before it will work.

 

[classic33]

You have to have the phone unlocked before it will work.

Not everyone locks their handset though.

 

[dodgy]

Not everyone locks their handset though.

You still have to present your fingerprint or faceid before payment even if the phone is unlocked.

 

[classic33]

You still have to present your fingerprint or faceid before payment even if the phone is unlocked.

Never seen faceid being used in a shop.