[cheonic729]

> The entire idea behind credit cards is to force processing fees upon store owners.

No. As a consumer, I enjoy immense value by carrying around zero cash. In fact, I don't even carry around physical cards (thank you Apple/Google Pay).

[graham_paul]

You are paying a price for that. The second someone steals your phone, you lose it, drop in into water or your battery runs off, you are temporarily poor and if you might find yourself in trouble if you can't get somewhere where you can charge your phone

[asutekku]

The second someone steals my cash i don’t have it anymore. If someone steals my phone, it is locked and the money attributed to it are safe. Sure, i may have lost my phone but my money is safe.

[graham_paul]

If someone steals your cash (as much cash as you can carry): you don't have it anymore.

If someone steals your phone (you will lose at least the value you paid for the phone) and once they force you to unlock the phone and to hand over the passwords, you will lose:

- as much cash as they can take out before you can access a device that will allow you to freeze the card

you will also be a more attractive target for hacking (especially if you are using Android and your phone is like the vast majority of targets that receives security updates very late or it simply does not receive them)

Seen it happen more than once. Yes, you are smart but so are thiefs

[asutekku]

Most phone thieves (at least in europe) take it out of your pocket in a busy place. They are not making you unlock yout phone.

[graham_paul]

In that particular case, you still lose a device you paid a lot of money to have and you might even lose any data not backed up

[throwaway_pdp09]

Of interest, and I really don't know as I've never had a smartphone, if your phone is stolen, what stops it being used to pay for something? The point of the convenience was - I thought - that you just swipe. Couldn't a thief?

Also how do you do anything if your phone is gone - travel, call, let the bank know, buy a new phone, let your partner know you're in trouble, anything?

Also how much is you phone worth? A quick look suggests ~£1000 for an iphone 11, although I guess that's needlessly high, but you're carrying a large cash equivalent, highly attractive? I've never had £500 or the equivalent in my pocket, ever (max ~£350 for 1/2 hour IIRC).

And cash doesn't break if you sit on it. I'm not entirely convinced of your case quite yet.

[detaro]

You need to unlock the phone to pay with it.

[graham_paul]

You will just unlock it at the thief's request

[mgkimsal]

that does not contradict or invalidate that the idea behind them was/is to force processing fees on merchants. whatever benefits you may or may not enjoy are unrelated to the purpose behind cards being offered.

[throwaway_pdp09]

What is this 'immense value'?

[remus]

Not carting a pocketful of loose change round your entire life. Not an issue for some people, but I really like carrying less stuff.

[thaumasiotes]

Loose change is both heavy and worthless. You can carry cash around without bothering with loose change.

[yourapostasy]

A very privileged perspective. Most of the world still counts their pennies, and the surcharges on non-cash monetary transactions make a sizeable, noticeable dent if pointed out to them. It's a tough balance they have to navigate.

Though I'm extremely privileged now myself, I'm not so far removed that I have forgotten those days when down-to-the-penny accounting mattered. In the US at least, if you had the right education (which sadly many lack), you can live amazingly inexpensively by forgoing many societal conventions and expectations.

[the_jeremy]

less hassle, enhanced security. I can spend hundreds of dollars without having to carry that much cash on me, or having to go to an ATM ever. It's more convenient and more secure, which is almost never true today.

[graham_paul]

I would not necessarily call it enhanced security if you are using Android and your phone is not one of the latest models. Plus of course someone can just steal your phone, force you unlock it and steal more than they could ever steal from you if you only had cash.

Your enhanced security is a box containing more money than you can carry. This box can (most of the times) only be opened with a key but this key is always with you. So whoever steals your force will just force you to open the box

[renewiltord]

Sure, if someone specifically wants my money, but that is unlikely in a Bayesian sense. And the bank will interrupt in any case because of anti-structuring and max-spend limits.

You don't have to outrun the bear.

[throwaway_pdp09]

If it's bayesian-unlikely they want your phone then why should it be any less bayesian-unlikely they want your cash. That's one weird argument. And BTW your phone is usually quite visible, like sticking out if not actually being used.

> and max-spend limits

Ok, now they've got your expensive phone and can spend up to your limit.

[renewiltord]

> If it's bayesian-unlikely they want your phone then why should it be any less bayesian-unlikely they want your cash.

Because phones these days are mostly bricks when you steal them. Cash still works.

> Ok, now they've got your expensive phone and can spend up to your limit.

Haha, no, they can't. That's not how any of this works.

But listen, it doesn't matter. Carry cash if you want. I won't. And may the chips land where they may.

[throwaway_pdp09]

Is cash that hard?

[renewiltord]

Yeah, I carry around a grand on me usually (for drugs and stuff) and it's really bulky. Then you've got the denomination issues.

[throwaway_pdp09]

If you take the speed you've just bought everything will be less tiring.

[renewiltord]

This is true, but the deleterious effects are fairly significant.