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With this latest technology, there will be no need to carry wallets anymore. With Visa PayWave, you can pay for things with your iPhone or cell phone. How does this work? First you'll need to go to your bank and obtain a memory card which can be put into the SD slot of your phone or inside a special plastic skin for the iPhone. Just open up the PayWave app, hold it up to the scanner that accepts mobile payments, and you're on your way!
The biggest concern with this new method is security. What happens if you lose your phone? As I read further, Visa claimed that it is more secure than carrying a credit card. Camera's can't capture your card number and PayWave monitors suspicious spending in real time, unlike banks, which don't monitor transactions 24-7. As far as losing your phone, you need a password to open the PayWave app, which makes it harder for another person to use.
I really doubted the product when I first started reading the article. My first thought was, 'What if someone loses their phone?' They have a very secure network, according to the article, which would make it harder for someone to use it. If someone takes your credit card, there's not much you can do besides cancel the account. If the person manages to get your PayWave password, your account can still be frozen to stop them.
As far as getting rid of the wallets, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. People will still want to carry cash, checks, etc. If we do end up switching to this payment method, everyone will have to have a smart phone. What happens when you eat at a fancy restaurant and it comes time to pay the bill? I wouldn't want my waiter taking my phone/credit card and looking through my personal things!
"There's an app for that" has a whole new meaning. I was thinking the same thing as you at first. I thought that this was really dumb, because people don't pull out their credit cards everywhere they go, but they do pull out their cell phones EVERYWHERE. This would make it much easier to steal someone's phone over their credit card, because it would be in their hand in stead of in their pocket. However, I'm much more convinced now that it is password protected. My only problem would be that I would start buying every little thing with it. However, I believe that people will still want to (and have to) carry cash.
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