Cashless Society is getting closer

[HaveaMint]

Well for those that worry of the such things I wonder when the scanners will be to scan the new chips on credit cards as you move around?

[HaveaMint]

We have strong privacy laws that require banks (or any organization) to make public what information about their customers they process and for what legitimate purpose --- what information about their customers is stored, for how long and why — and what information about their customers is shared with whom for what legitimate purpose.

And the saying goes "We are with the government we are here to help you" cough cough When you trust governments and don't oversee them you are doomed as a society.

[Moem]

Well for those that worry of the such things I wonder when the scanners will be to scan the new chips on credit cards as you move around?

New chips? Those have been around for years. But aluminium credit card cases are a thing... a cheap and readily available thing. Nice little Faraday cage.
A laminated piece of aluminium foil inside your wallet will do the same thing if you prefer to keep your cards in there.

[xenopeek]

Indeed, there are many such options. I use a Firebird wallet from Smartcaze. It's metal and stores 6-7 cards. Chips can't be read while the wallet is closed.

[Pierre]

Roland Moreno: Inventor who missed out on global recognition for his computer chip smart card:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obit ... 15617.html

"Roland Moreno, born in Egypt but brought up in France, was widely credited with inventing the computer chip smart card now used by banks, supermarkets, filling stations, mobile phone SIM cards, public phone booths, Oyster cards, identity documents and driving licences.".

[Citizen229]

Aluminum is the key to blocking chip readers. Also if you want to aggrevate the power company, it works there too with the smart meters.

[lmuserx4849]

"Walmart get rid of cashiers and checkout lines" = Amazon ?

If you participate in society, someone has your data. How is it going to be used.
I just want to have those conversations out in the open, be informed, and have some control so I can feel human. If we ignore for a moment folks that want to do us harm, isn't it the strangest thing, that the thing of value today is personal data and how it has been monetized.

Some insurance companies give a discount if you allow them to track. You can have your income automatically deposited, and use auto bill pay and never get involved. Welfare is cashless - Electronic Benefit cards. I read a quote about folks once were concerned about tracking, now they willing carry tracking devices around with them. We all think of cell phones, but what about fitbits and medical devices. Yikes!

Visa card issue puts brakes on drive towards cashless society, June 5, 2018.

“Always have two forms of payment on you,” suggested one. “I’m a banker,” said the other. “I always carry cash, precisely because I know what can go wrong.”

Failure of techology is a concern, and I'm not sure we are paying attention.

I was reading a 2017 Debian Conference presentation, "Will there be Debian in your next BMW car?" In today's cars, there are over 80 ECU's. They are becoming less maintainable by the ordinary individuals. Farmers, who are notoriously self-reliant, aren't even allowed to maintain their tractors. Do you really own what you buy? It is financial freedom to be able to purchase a vehicle, or anything, and maintain it for 25 years. Use it up and recyle it.

[BG405]

A laminated piece of aluminium foil inside your wallet will do the same thing if you prefer to keep your cards in there.

I do have one of those aluminium clamshell cases you mentioned - and I tested it, it does work - but the aluminium foil is a great idea & one of my mates has been doing this for a while. I have a laminator & some card-size pouches, so will make some of those.

As for cashless society, not here in a medium sized English city .. & I live about a mile from the centre, so not exactly rural. Smaller shops tend to have a minimum spend of £5 (or pay a transaction fee) and that usually doesn't count tobacco or alcohol purchases, so to buy a couple of tinnies you need cash, period. Only the chains allow spend of less than £5 without a charge being added.

It's the tracking that bothers me as much as the fear of everything going wrong - several times recently, some of the ATMs were out of action. Even one of the local banks was hobbled a few weeks back due to loss of internet service. But I really don't want 3rd party snoopers to monitor what I buy, how often, where etc. unless it's consensual & there's a direct benefit to me. Otherwise, it's none of their business.

We have cash machines (ATMs) here, in several nearby locations, which will dish out fivers, very handy for those of us on a restricted budget.