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Sounds like Sweden. About 10 years ago I was very surprised to be able to pay for a bus journey using my (foreign) debit card. Now it's normal in the UK. And I

Sounds like Sweden. About 10 years ago I was very surprised to be able to pay for a bus journey using my (foreign) debit card. Now it's normal in the UK. And I have Swedish friends who have never seen the newly issued currency. Crazy but it's the future. It's just a shame that it's gatekept by unaccountable duopolies such as Google...

StavrosK 7y ago
Funny you should mention that, my Google account got somehow restricted yesterday due to Google Pay not liking my rooted phone. Now not only can I not pay with the phone, but I have to submit all my private information to a random Google web page, hope someone sees this, hope they agree it's correct, and hope that this was the problem in the first place (since all the app says is "this operation cannot be completed"). In summary, fuck Google. This is why I want cryptocurrency to succeed. I don't want corporations deciding how I spend my own money.
- mr__y 7y ago
  Imagine future cashless society with mobile-only payments. And a smart-car that needs a phone to open/start. And a smart-home with front-door unlocked with a phone. If you loose/break your phone - no problem, you can replace it with a new one, borrow one or use that old phone you keep in a drawer just in case. Not a huge deal. But if your account gets locked you have a problem. I'm afraid we as a society are giving too much control to a few corporations. It's not that of a problem yet of course
  - StavrosK 7y ago
    > It's not that of a problem yet of course And that's the problem, that it's going to be insidiously gradual. These lockouts will mostly be seen as acts of God, things that happen to the less fortunate other people and not us. As long as they're kept rare enough, people won't bother solving them, like what happens with countless other things.
  - rwmj 7y ago
    You don't need to wait! Visit China today. In all seriousness they are heading this way - you need a WeChat account to do or pay for just about anything, you will soon need face verification to sign in to any internet service, and fingerprint readers on doors are very much a thing.

StavrosK 7y ago

Funny you should mention that, my Google account got somehow restricted yesterday due to Google Pay not liking my rooted phone. Now not only can I not pay with the phone, but I have to submit all my private information to a random Google web page, hope someone sees this, hope they agree it's correct, and hope that this was the problem in the first place (since all the app says is "this operation cannot be completed"). In summary, fuck Google. This is why I want cryptocurrency to succeed. I don't want corporations deciding how I spend my own money.

mr__y 7y ago
Imagine future cashless society with mobile-only payments. And a smart-car that needs a phone to open/start. And a smart-home with front-door unlocked with a phone. If you loose/break your phone - no problem, you can replace it with a new one, borrow one or use that old phone you keep in a drawer just in case. Not a huge deal. But if your account gets locked you have a problem. I'm afraid we as a society are giving too much control to a few corporations. It's not that of a problem yet of course
- StavrosK 7y ago
  > It's not that of a problem yet of course And that's the problem, that it's going to be insidiously gradual. These lockouts will mostly be seen as acts of God, things that happen to the less fortunate other people and not us. As long as they're kept rare enough, people won't bother solving them, like what happens with countless other things.
- rwmj 7y ago
  You don't need to wait! Visit China today. In all seriousness they are heading this way - you need a WeChat account to do or pay for just about anything, you will soon need face verification to sign in to any internet service, and fingerprint readers on doors are very much a thing.