The Abominable Physical Wallet

You’d think the pandemic would hasten the death of the physical wallet. It’s long been a pet dream of mine. Being able to venture outside the house without the abominable physical wallet - into that world, may my country awake (with apologies to Tagore).

We’ve been getting closer every year. Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted at a lot of places making just a cellphone or even a smart watch as the sole requirement. Enough places support it that it’s simple to avoid the ones that don’t, and to pester them every time to add it soon. It’s partly about ignorance. Some claim to only support Samsung Pay. Paying friends has long been easy and free with Paypal and Venmo, provided it’s linked with your bank account. It sure would be nice for this to take seconds like in Europe instead of days in the US, but that’s another story. Bank ATMs have supported mobile access since 2017. And since 2018, Costco’s mobile app can be used to both enter the stores and pay.

Most loyalty cards have digital versions. Or you can take a picture of the barcode or QR code and store it in a Digital Wallet album for easy access. That works for library cards and gift cards alike. Digital coupons are already commonplace. Some commuter cards may not be covered.

Being able to venture outside the house without the abominable physical wallet - into that world, may my country awake.

The most glaring physical remnant of the past yet to be digitized is the state ID and the driving license. A number of US states have pilot programs running for a digital driving license. A few countries already have gone all the way and millions are using mobile apps daily, including South Korea, Norway, Thailand and Brazil. So, there’s hope the US will catch up soon.

And then there’s the passport. Half of the countries of the world have biometric passports, where biometric information is paired with physical passports, no country has made the leap to fully digital yet. Safe to say, this one’s going to be the last one standing.

That pretty much covers my wallet. What’s in your wallet? (with no apologies to Capital One)