2 ms·

I mean, you can always log into that WeChat account from another device... your WeChat username and password are maybe a bit more secure than all those numbers

by saurik 4y ago

I mean, you can always log into that WeChat account from another device... your WeChat username and password are maybe a bit more secure than all those numbers printed ostentatiously on your card, but are they really that different?

kelnos 4y ago
What other device? If I'm out and about and my phone gets stolen, broken, or even the battery just runs out, how do I pay for my transit ride home, where I -- maybe -- have a backup device? This is the -- pretty common -- failure case I worry about. And yes, I know it's also possible for physical wallets to be stolen. But cash doesn't "break" or run low on charge. Software bugs or internet access issues don't cause paying with cash to fail. Example of stupidity: I can pay for transit in my city with my phone. However, there are newer payment readers on a small percentage of trains here that just don't like my phone, and insist "Invalid Card". The company that manages support for the readers has been unable to help me. The older readers on older trains work fine. The older readers on all the buses work fine. But I have to carry a physical transit card with me all the time anyway, and -- amusingly enough -- it's more convenient to tap the card than to unlock my phone and hope it works.
- gjs278 4y ago
- Jensson 4y ago
  You borrow someone's phone? Have people forgotten how to talk and help each other? It is very rare for phones to get stolen or break down, and when they do it is a lot easier to borrow a phone to pay for a Taxi than it is to beg for the money for a Taxi ride, so the situation still seems better than what we had before. Main thing stopping this would be that most phone OS doesn't seem to support guest logins, but that is an easy technicality to fix as long as there is demand for it which there will be as phones becomes more important.
- blackoil 4y ago
  You can use eWallet as the primary payment method and have some cash as a backup. A smartwatch would be more convenient than taking out the phone/card.

by saurik 4y ago

kelnos 4y ago

What other device? If I'm out and about and my phone gets stolen, broken, or even the battery just runs out, how do I pay for my transit ride home, where I -- maybe -- have a backup device? This is the -- pretty common -- failure case I worry about. And yes, I know it's also possible for physical wallets to be stolen. But cash doesn't "break" or run low on charge. Software bugs or internet access issues don't cause paying with cash to fail. Example of stupidity: I can pay for transit in my city with my phone. However, there are newer payment readers on a small percentage of trains here that just don't like my phone, and insist "Invalid Card". The company that manages support for the readers has been unable to help me. The older readers on older trains work fine. The older readers on all the buses work fine. But I have to carry a physical transit card with me all the time anyway, and -- amusingly enough -- it's more convenient to tap the card than to unlock my phone and hope it works.

gjs278 4y ago
Jensson 4y ago
You borrow someone's phone? Have people forgotten how to talk and help each other? It is very rare for phones to get stolen or break down, and when they do it is a lot easier to borrow a phone to pay for a Taxi than it is to beg for the money for a Taxi ride, so the situation still seems better than what we had before. Main thing stopping this would be that most phone OS doesn't seem to support guest logins, but that is an easy technicality to fix as long as there is demand for it which there will be as phones becomes more important.
blackoil 4y ago
You can use eWallet as the primary payment method and have some cash as a backup. A smartwatch would be more convenient than taking out the phone/card.