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I'll offer a random anecdote. I lived in Switzerland for a couple of years in the early 2010's, so before contactless payment had become so prevalent as it is n

I'll offer a random anecdote. I lived in Switzerland for a couple of years in the early 2010's, so before contactless payment had become so prevalent as it is now. Most of the transactions I made and saw others made was via cash rather than chip and PIN (the norm in most Europe at the time). One of the memories that stands out from my time there is whilst in the queue getting some groceries in Denner (a lower end supermarket), the person in front of me paid with a 1,000 CHF note and no-one batted an eye! I didn't even know the denominations went that high, which is more a reflection of my ignorance of the place I was living really. I mentioned this to my work colleges the next day and was told it wasn't that unusual, especially with older generations. To be clear chip and PIN was widely available at this time but most people used cash. Even with a decade gone and a pandemic I still wouldn't be surprised if I were to go back to Switzerland tomorrow and see people paying for groceries with huge documentations TLDR: The Swiss like cash.

xiphias2 4y ago
As a person helping my mother from far ahead I understand why. The hard part is not using the card. It's setting it up: set up the bank application on mobile phone, setting up second factor, looking at notifications when they disappear after a few seconds (older people have slower reflexes). All the flat UI means that my mother can't tell me the difference between a button and a text. There's no button to see notifications, she has to use swiping, which is again much harder for older people, as all the timings were optimized for young people with young people reflexes. Without all this how does she know how much money she has? (with cash she can just count it).
- sportslife 4y ago
  Notifications that disappear after a few seconds are a scourge that I've seen my surprisingly tech-literate mother struggle with too. I wonder if there is any work around accessibility and ui-notification duration or history.
  - xiphias2 4y ago
    Work should be about just testing everything with old people now that companies practically require them to use smartphones.
    - MandieD 4y ago
      Tech advocacy for older people should be a core role for groups like AARP; not just rating which devices they might like best, but having UI/UX staff who specialize in understanding the needs of older people AND lobbying to make sure “accessibility” includes them. Do not get me started on constant UI “improvements” - just when I have our 85-year-old aunt confident in handling iOS’s last changes to Photo or Camera, they move some common item to the other end of the screen. Also, not having an option to show passwords as you enter them. After one update that forced a password re-entry, I ended up having to send her to her mobile provider to enter it for her, since we’re on the other side of the country and she didn’t have any younger neighbors she or I trusted with her iCloud password.
linksnapzz 4y ago
Had the same experience getting groceries at Migros. I was about to pay with a credit card, and my friend elbowed me; said that I should just pay cash like everyone else.

xiphias2 4y ago

As a person helping my mother from far ahead I understand why. The hard part is not using the card. It's setting it up: set up the bank application on mobile phone, setting up second factor, looking at notifications when they disappear after a few seconds (older people have slower reflexes). All the flat UI means that my mother can't tell me the difference between a button and a text. There's no button to see notifications, she has to use swiping, which is again much harder for older people, as all the timings were optimized for young people with young people reflexes. Without all this how does she know how much money she has? (with cash she can just count it).

sportslife 4y ago
Notifications that disappear after a few seconds are a scourge that I've seen my surprisingly tech-literate mother struggle with too. I wonder if there is any work around accessibility and ui-notification duration or history.
- xiphias2 4y ago
  Work should be about just testing everything with old people now that companies practically require them to use smartphones.
  - MandieD 4y ago
    Tech advocacy for older people should be a core role for groups like AARP; not just rating which devices they might like best, but having UI/UX staff who specialize in understanding the needs of older people AND lobbying to make sure “accessibility” includes them. Do not get me started on constant UI “improvements” - just when I have our 85-year-old aunt confident in handling iOS’s last changes to Photo or Camera, they move some common item to the other end of the screen. Also, not having an option to show passwords as you enter them. After one update that forced a password re-entry, I ended up having to send her to her mobile provider to enter it for her, since we’re on the other side of the country and she didn’t have any younger neighbors she or I trusted with her iCloud password.

linksnapzz 4y ago

Had the same experience getting groceries at Migros. I was about to pay with a credit card, and my friend elbowed me; said that I should just pay cash like everyone else.