Who walks around carrying wallets and keys anymore? Surprisingly, not many!
Technology
Think about it: whenever you leave the house, you always make sure you have your smartphone, your keys, and then your wallet (in that order). However, thanks to modern technology, wallets and keys are quickly becoming so 20th Century.
A smartphone (or a smartwatch) is fast becoming the new “wallet.” These devices have grown to store multiple credit cards inside the technology, making it all too easy to simply wave your device and pay for anything.
“If I hand you my phone, and you hand me your physical credit card, who is going to have better luck running up some charges?” said Elias Guerra, CEO of Popwallet, a B2B mobile wallet company in New York. “You’re not going to unlock my phone and go make payments with it. But if I have physical possession of your credit card, until you actually call and cancel that, I’m running rampant.”
Recently, New York City began allowing smartphones to replace subway MetroCards. Additionally, several states are considering moving to a digital driver’s license system, making a hard copy obsolete.
“We’re nearing the point where that pendulum is shifting to the preference for digital forms of payment (and) identity,” says Tiffany Conway, director of field marketing for government programs at Gemalto, a global digital security company that produces digital driver’s licenses.
With so many people ditching cash for their credit cards, who needs a wallet these days?
The same goes for keys.
Smartphones and Smart locks have replaced the need for keys. Technology now allows a resident to unlock their door with their smart device from 2 feet away or from halfway across the world.
Why carry an old-school key when you can simply open your door with the push of a smartphone button — or, by your door easily recognizing it’s you and opening the door automatically when you’re within range?
The same goes for cars as Hyundai has announced it’s introducing a “Digital Key” that “will allow users to unlock and start their Hyundai vehicle via their smartphone.”
Are you ready for this new age of technological advancements? Or do you long for the days when things weren’t so easily hacked?
THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY!
