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from the i-bet-the-last-$10-in-my-wallet dept.
The New York Times is reporting that Sweden is getting close to eliminating cash as a method of payment:
Parishioners text tithes to their churches. Homeless street vendors carry mobile credit-card readers. Even the Abba Museum, despite being a shrine to the 1970s pop group that wrote "Money, Money, Money," considers cash so last-century that it does not accept bills and coins.
Few places are tilting toward a cashless future as quickly as Sweden, which has become hooked on the convenience of paying by app and plastic.
This tech-forward country, home to the music streaming service Spotify and the maker of the Candy Crush mobile games, has been lured by the innovations that make digital payments easier. It is also a practical matter, as many of the country's banks no longer accept or dispense cash. [...]
Bills and coins now represent just 2 percent of Sweden's economy, compared with 7.7 percent in the United States and 10 percent in the euro area.
But, as anyone with a brain can predict:
Not everyone is cheering. Sweden's embrace of electronic payments has alarmed consumer organizations and critics who warn of a rising threat to privacy and increased vulnerability to sophisticated Internet crimes. Last year, the number of electronic fraud cases surged to 140,000, more than double the amount a decade ago, according to Sweden's Ministry of Justice.
My take: With cash, identify theft and credit card fraud becomes more difficult. But more importantly, I like the anonymity of cash. It lets those of us who pay too much in taxes cheat on sales tax by buying expensive things in a tax-free state when we visit. I also like using cash to tip underpaid servers at restaurants so they don't have to report that portion of their gratuity. But there is a civil liberties element to it as well. The government has no business knowing or being able to know where I spend my money or how much I spend.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Unixnut on Sunday December 27 2015, @02:19PM
Except with contactless, you don't need the persons pin. Hell, once they work out how to clone the card via RFID, they won't have to mug you at all, just be within a certain distance of you. Could be standing next to you in a queue, or on the metro/bus.
Yes, contactless is only 20 euros per transaction, but the mugger just needs to make multiple transactions less than 20 euro, and it is up to you to contact your bank fast enough before a bill is racked up, which will really depend on when you notice your card is missing.
(Score: 3, Informative) by n1 on Sunday December 27 2015, @05:38PM
Contactless transactions can now be up to £30($45) in the UK. [bbc.co.uk]
You have no option now, as far as I know, to get a debit card without contactless in the UK. The last credit card i got automatically enabled it after the first chip-n-pin transaction.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday December 27 2015, @10:55PM
Yes, contactless is only 20 euros per transaction, but the mugger just needs to make multiple transactions less than 20 euro,
The mugger does not even need to do that. Most muggers would be pleased with the first 20 euros alone (actually more like 40 in the UK). Then if you stopped the card they can mug some other people until you get your new card and they can mug you again.
My point being the irony that in the UK credit cards were hyped as being the thing to make mugging a thing of the past, back when the banks were trying to get everyone to use them and the news frequently featured cases of old ladies being beaten up in the street for the sake of sums like two pounds and 50 pence. Now we are turning full circle back to that situation. 20 (or 40) euros is well worth the attention of muggers.