heywood on 7/12/2019 at 17:39
Quote Posted by Starker
Very true if you live in a place like Sweden or other EU countries. Things like contactless payment have made paying for things very fast and convenient. Not to mention the rise of e-commerce and all the e-government stuff that has been getting traction. Being able to buy train tickets to your mobile phone or do government business without any of the bureaucracy involved is quite handy.
Setting aside the 3rd world, is there anyplace where you can't do all of this? Serious question, because my impression is that it's been adopted everywhere now.
If you're talking about contactless payments in particular, there's still small-time vendors here and there with decade old hardware that can't handle RFID.
Anyway, the last place I visited where I had to have cash on hand was Japan in 2008, because some of the smaller restaurants and shops couldn't handle Western payment processors for whatever reason. Eh, let me backtrack that a little bit. The last time I really needed to carry cash was this autumn when I took my kids to the local county fair. But the last time I visited a state/country/region where I felt the need to cash up before going out to explore was Japan, last decade.
Starker on 7/12/2019 at 18:38
Quote Posted by heywood
Setting aside the 3rd world, is there anyplace where you can't do all of this? Serious question, because my impression is that it's been adopted everywhere now.
If you're talking about contactless payments in particular, there's still small-time vendors here and there with decade old hardware that can't handle RFID.
Anyway, the last place I visited where I had to have cash on hand was Japan in 2008, because some of the smaller restaurants and shops couldn't handle Western payment processors for whatever reason. Eh, let me backtrack that a little bit. The last time I really needed to carry cash was this autumn when I took my kids to the local county fair. But the last time I visited a state/country/region where I felt the need to cash up before going out to explore was Japan, last decade.
Contactless payments? You must be visiting some very affluent places, cause it wasn't nearly as common ten years ago as it is now. I was in Lithuania a few months ago and it was first time I saw that option there. Just a few years ago it wasn't even available in Vilnius.
As for the other stuff like governments interacting with citizens, schools interacting with parents, doctors interacting with patients, and vice versa, it all has become increasingly digital in my experience over the last decade. Being able to see your child's grades and what's happening in school, transferring your medical history over to a new doctor, filing taxes, setting up a business... things like these are way more convenient than they were 10 years ago. Plus now there's a greater control over you data and privacy with the GDPR.
Wait, what did
you mean by going cashless? Just the ability to pay without cash? I thought that was what had already been adopted everywhere now? Well, with the exception of parts of Japan and 3rd world countries.
Kolya on 8/12/2019 at 00:28
Pretty sure he means being poor. Living in the gutter may not be everyone's cup of tea, but heywood also appreciated tablets killing off netbooks. So there's that.
Music:
- Summer Cannibals
- O Terno
- Tropical Fuck Storm
Society:
- We learned how much of it was based on the common narratives once distributed by the gatekeepers of information. Like Democracy and Superstars.
Films:
- Mad Max Fury Road
heywood on 8/12/2019 at 16:20
ROTFLMAO Kolya
For me personally, "going cashless" means I don't need to carry cash except for special occasions, e.g. buying tickets at a charity raffle. It also means that when I travel out of the country, I don't feel the need to fill my wallet with local currency just in case. Contactless payment is just a bonus. Over the last few years, I've noticed myself going for months with an empty wallet. I also noticed that when I'm in a line to pay at a lunch counter or fast foot restaurant, almost nobody is pulling out cash anymore. Even at the local brewery, it's mostly cards being handed to the bartender. Hence I called it a trend.
