1 Mar 2012 - Phones replace credit cards

Today as I was walking to lunch with a friend of mine, she was telling me about how she had forgotten her purse, but if she had that payment thing on her phone, it wouldn't matter. I had no idea what she was talking about, so she expanded a bit further, enough that I could understand the concept but without knowing all of the details, and the concept piqued my interest, so I decided to do a little research. I found an article from May last year on The Age website about "Google Wallet." It turns out that Google has launched, in the United States, an application for Android platform phones, that allows uses to pay for products using a MasterCard PayPass terminal. Instead of tapping your credit card on the PayPass terminal, you tap your phone! This would enable people to leave their wallets or purses at home and only take their phone out with them.

This technology is actually quite scary, we depend on our phone so much these days, for all of our contacts, appointments and directions. We use it for our entertainment, to play games and music. We also set reminders in our phones so that we remember to complete tasks. Not to mention the fact that we carry them around with us so that people can contact us at any time. As it is people are devastated when they lose their phone, which happens often, without having the option to rely on their phones to hold money as well. I think this might be a step too far for me. I am the type of person that likes to rely less on my phone, rather than more. I like having a separate MP3 player, so that I can go jogging without my phone and I like that my money and credit cards are separate, so that I can nick down to the shops without taking my phone. Basically I like to leave my phone turned off or at home as often as possible. Although I am a fan of technology making my life easier, I just don't feel that I need to have one piece of technology that performs every task for me. In regards to my phone, I think that I have reached the level where I am happy with what tasks it can perform.