For a growing number of young people, a wallet full of cash and cards is as uncool as a millennial's tucks, no-show socks, and skinny jeans. The only way to do this is to carry your smartphone with you. Iykyk — For those who don't know, it means “if you know, you know.”
I, Brian Chen, am a gray-haired 39-year-old technology columnist, but I'm not one of the most knowledgeable people. It would be incredible for me to part with my wallet, which contains important items such as my driver's license. So, in an effort to be hip again, I invited my colleague and boyfriend, 23-year-old Ewen Lu, to ask young people how they live like this, and I jumped in too.
By ditching my physical wallet, I'm joining young people like Ruby Hegab, a 19-year-old student in Fremont, California. She says that as soon as she got her first credit card last year, she focused all her efforts on using her iPhone. Use it to pay for groceries, parking meters, restaurant meals, and carry your insurance card.
“If a store doesn't accept Tap to Pay, I won't give them the transaction,” Hegab said. But that rarely happens. That's because the vast majority of the retailers she visits, both big box stores and mom-and-pop stores, now accept some form of mobile payments through services like Apple Pay and her Venmo.
According to recent data, in a survey of just over 2,500 Americans asking about digital payments, about 80% of Gen Z respondents said they use mobile wallets, and half of them said they use mobile wallets for other purposes. He said he wanted to use his cell phone for the following purposes. Pymnts Intelligence is a commercial research company.
Younger people are increasingly using mobile phones for purposes that older people used to use traditional wallets, such as carrying documents such as driver's licenses, boarding passes, and event tickets. Some of these digital items can be added to his Apple or Google Wallet apps, while others, such as insurance cards, can be downloaded through third-party apps.
The change in behavior reflects how far mobile wallets have evolved. About 10 years ago, when I covered emerging mobile payment apps, most people looked at the technology and shrugged. Tapping your smartphone with a scanner is as convenient as swiping your credit card. Amid the global pandemic that has driven people to contactless payments in recent years, Apple and Google have expanded their software to support digitized driver's licenses and transit cards, making mobile wallets even more useful. It was a perfect storm.
I endured a week without my wallet and only used my phone for shopping. Go to a bar, go out to dinner, or go to the movies. You can also buy crabs from fishermen's boats. A phone call was sufficient in almost all of those situations, but paying for dinner was more complicated, and using a digital driver's license to buy wine at the grocery store wasn't as easy.
If you're thinking of ditching your wallet or just want to reduce the bulk in your pocket, here's what you need to know.
payment
In many stores, Android and iPhone users can use Google Pay and Apple Pay by tapping their phone on the reader next to the register. Many small businesses, such as food trucks, accept payments through third-party apps like Venmo, which allows you to scan a barcode and send money.
However, relying entirely on mobile wallets comes with inherent risks. Abi Hoyer, 21, of Punta Gorda, Florida, said she doesn't carry her wallet for safety reasons. If a robbery were to occur, the thief would only get her cell phone. Still, if you're forced to share your passcode, the thief may be able to make a payment and extract money from your account.
That's why it's important for iPhone users to enable a new safety feature called Stolen Device Protection in Settings. This prevents passcode access to data such as passwords and stored credit cards when the device is in an unfamiliar location. Android users also need to know the steps to lock their device and delete data in the event of a theft.
Additionally, not all businesses have access to mobile payments. When Hoyer realized he couldn't pay for items at Walmart and didn't have a complete credit card number to register for Walmart Pay, the store's wallet, he realized this. I learned it the hard way. One workaround: Password manager apps like 1Password or Bitwarden can safely store sensitive data like credit card numbers in case you need to look them up.
Jillian Gillespie, 27, of Chicago, said she switched to Apple Pay after losing her wallet more than a year ago. This is fine in a fast-casual restaurant where you pay at the counter, but in a sit-down restaurant where the waiter hands you the bill and expects you to use your credit card, you may have to rely on your friend to pay. In such cases, she typically uses Venmo to pay back her friends.
“I don't carry my wallet around very often, so sometimes it gets stuck in my butt,” Gillespie said.
I also encountered a similar obstacle. Of the 3 restaurants, only one brought her a reader to tap on her phone to pay, the others required a credit card and my wife had to pay.
Documents such as insurance card
Digital scans or photos of important documents such as health insurance cards or car insurance cards are now widely accepted as substitutes for the real thing. Some insurance companies, including State Farm, Aetna, and Anthem, offer digital cards through apps that you can add to your mobile wallet. However, not all insurance cards work this way, and finding them quickly can be a hassle. No need to sift through photos or find the right app to read your insurance card after a car accident. , for example.
I've found that the easiest way to make my insurance cards easily searchable is to attach images of all my insurance cards to a single digital note stored on my phone. On your iPhone, open your insurance card photo, tap the button in the bottom left corner, select the Notes app, and save the image to a new note. Next, rename the note to “Insurance Card.”
Similarly, Android users Google Keep notes app. Tap Add Image at the bottom of Keep. Next, select a photo of your insurance card and label your note.
All other types of cards and documents, such as Clipper cards for public transportation, movie tickets, and gift cards, were easily digitized. Tapping the “Add to Apple Wallet” button loaded them within the Apple Wallet app.
identification
Digitization of driver's licenses is still relatively new and is being tested in various states including California, Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland and Utah. This is where mobile wallets fall short.
For example, here in California, you sign up for a digital driver's license through the California Department of Transportation app. The app generates a temporary barcode that can be scanned to verify age and identity. Airports in some states now have signs saying they will accept digital IDs from people enrolled in the Transportation Security Administration's Pre-Check program, but many states have not yet participated in the experiment and will It is not practical to leave your driver's license at the airport. House.
Digital IDs are also not yet an acceptable replacement for physical driver's licenses. California police say law enforcement officers will not accept a portable driver's license if you are pulled over, and the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles says you are still required to carry physical identification.
When purchasing alcohol at multiple grocery stores last week, the cashiers were unfamiliar with California's digital driver's licenses and did not have scanners to check the barcodes. Also, a bouncer at a cocktail bar refused my digital ID and asked for a physical card.
In an emergency, it may be difficult to identify you. Apple's Medical ID and Google's Personal Safety features can be set up to show people your name, age, and emergency contacts by pressing a shortcut on your phone, but emergency medical workers need to know how to use the features. must know.
Therefore, it is best to keep your physical ID with you. To do this without carrying your wallet, you can do what some young people do and clip your ID between your phone and your phone case. I found this to be an imperfect solution as the card brings the phone closer to the edge of the case, making the screen more susceptible to damage if dropped.
After a week I've settled on what I think is the best solution. It's a magnetic wallet that attaches to the back of your phone and allows you to carry only two cards: your ID and one credit card.
It felt like cheating. But Hegab, 19, admitted that she uses a similar card holder to carry just her driver's license.
She said she would retire the licenses as soon as digital driver's licenses became available everywhere.
