Three reasons why physical wallets are outdated
Digital wallets will be the norm before you know it
I finally upgraded my phone the other day. I went from an iPhone 5 to an iPhone SE. The features that are now available to me have made a tangible difference to my life.
The most significant improvement has been using Apple Pay with Touch ID. I wish this were possible with all my cards. I went looking for ways to digitize all my current cards. But all I could do was my debit cards and my supermarket rewards card. Not good enough!
Here are my three main reasons why I want to rid myself of a physical wallet.
1. Insecure
If someone manages to make off with your wallet, they can use anything inside it. If you had cash, say goodbye to it. If you were carrying credit or debit cards, they could use them until you cancel them. In my experience, banks have gotten pretty good at reimbursing in these situations. But an unidentifiable person was able to spend the bank’s money without repercussion. The cost of fraudulent purchases filter back through to the bank’s customers, so it still impacts you.
They also have your driver’s license. If the person is lucky enough to look like you, they can use it for many nefarious activities. From gaining access to a bar to pretending to be your for domestic travel.
If you were also carrying your healthcare card, they could now use that with your driver’s license. They can abuse your healthcare plan. Gaining access to prescription medication and using up your quotas. But you only find this out when it’s too late. From getting your usual massage to needing life-saving surgery, you may get turned down.
These would not be issues if all our cards were digitized. Digital transactions must authenticate with your fingerprint or face. These are biometrics that have at most a 0.01% chance of incorrectly verifying a random person. So if your phone is stolen, it can’t be used for transactions. Thus digitizing reduces the long-term damage to your livelihood.
You would also be able to regain access to the lost cards once you replace your phone. You would download them from a secure backup. Lose your wallet, and it will take days or weeks for replacement cards to be mailed out.
2. Inconvenient
The cashier has just served you, and they ask you for your membership card. You open your wallet expecting to see it straight away, but you don’t. You touch each card in each slot, making sure you’re not blind. You can’t see it. You’re getting frantic. You glance behind you and see a line forming. They look frustrated with your lack of organization. You pull out every card in your wallet only to find the card you were looking for was sitting behind another. Or worse, you don’t have it with you at all.
Sound familiar?
It is to me, and I don’t carry many things in my wallet. I’ve had to leave items at a supermarket checkout because I’ve realized I’ve left my debit card at home. Frustrating and embarrassing.
We never leave our phone at home. And thanks to Apple Pay’s Automatic Selection, you don’t even have to locate the correct card in your Apple Wallet. The scanner and the phone will magically do this for you.
3. Uncomfortable
No one has ever put their wallet in their pocket and thought, “oooh yeah, so comfy.”
Wallets are bulky.
Put in your front pocket, you’ll feel it with every step.
Put it in your back pocket, and you’ll be sitting crooked all night long.
I’ll concede that phones these days verge on being too large. But at least they’re thin and can be used for many, many things, including a wallet. No matter how many digital cards you are in possession of, the phone will stay the same thickness. It will allow us to forgo the feeling of carrying a packet of Kraft singles in our jeans pocket.
At Everproof, we’re working towards proving your identity without physical identity artifacts. I can’t wait until I can remove my driver’s license, Medicare, and private health care cards from my wallet.
If you’re like me and believe physical wallets should be a thing of the past, sign up for our mailing list. We’ll keep you updated and let you know when you can use Everproof to prove your identity.
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