What specific services do you depend on that require a smart phone?
There are other things in life that are certainly a lot more convenient with a smart phone. I rely on public transit, bussing and trains, and if I didn't have a smartphone that would make it a lot more difficult to navigate. Sure I could pull up a paper map of the bus routes and estimate what routing might be the most optimal to get to my destination by hand, and call up the transit agency operator line with my buss stop ID to ask when the next bus is slated to appear, but its infinitely easier to just use google maps and be done with it. When I am on the first bus and anticipating transferring to another bus, unless I knew that bus stop ID for the transfer point ahead of time I cannot call ahead and know when my transfer bus is arriving, for example.
Why no physical authentication, e.g. YubiKeys?
(And certainly there are a lot of things on the web that are hard to go without and I assume the typical case where someone doesn't have a smartphone doesn't have easy access to a computer either.)
If you think of it like that, then it's awfully inconvenient. But what you do, what I think most of us used to do, is pair that errand with another, like grocery shopping. Chances are fairly good there is an in-network ATM in route to the grocery store, if not at the grocery store. It only adds a minute, maybe a few minutes, to a trip you were going to make anyway.
Are cheques really that common in the US still? In Ireland, and as far as I'm aware, the rest of the EU, it's rare to see a cheque at all these days. Almost everything is paid either on cards or some other form of electronic transfer.
Not really. Happens enough that you can't call it a surprise to see one, but they're only used in certain niches at this point. I write a check about once a year, for some edge case like I'm paying a contractor who refuses to just get Venmo or equivalent.
Even where they are used (as someone mentioned, you do occasionally see elderly folks write them at the grocery store) they tend to be just a slightly different version of a debit card w/o PIN -- the stores now can instantly run them, there's no way to float one.
That's actually the most surprising thing I've heard in this thread. Having that ability would probably go some way toward explaining their longevity. Like I said in another comment, I don't even know if a grocery store / supermarket would accept a cheque here, mostly because they wouldn't have the ability to run them.
I assume things like car dealerships use the system as well. When I bought a car recently I just gave them a personal check which they were fine with. In the past I had to go to my bank and get a cashier's check.
You don't even generally see signs about returned check fees these days.
They're not super-common in general for most use cases but they're still the most straightforward way to make personal payments (other than in-person cash payments) without going through some process that's more involved than giving someone a piece of paper.
(That said, I probably only deposit 5 or 6 checks a year. So putting them in an ATM at the bank wouldn't be a horrible inconvenience. And they are getting less and less common.)
I guess my counter-question is what does the rest of the world do for doctors bills or paying laborers who don't accept payment via Paypal/Venmo?
In the Netherlands banking apps let you create "Payment Requests", which is basically a URL you can share with someone to have them pay you (you can pre-fill the amount they need to pay). Typically, if you open such an URL on your phone, it will let you jump into your banking app of _your_ bank to make the actual payment (even if the payment request is from a different bank than the on you're using).
Interesting. I'm not even sure a grocery store / supermarket would accept a cheque here.
> My housekeeper doesn't accept Paypal/Venmo, so she's paid with a check as well
Here it'd be either cash in hand, or a bank transfer (same as rent, really). All you need is their IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Bank Identifier Code), and most mobile banking apps will let you set up a monthly direct debit. You can sometimes run into issues if their bank account is in a different country to the bank you're transferring from—it's unlawful to discriminate between IBANs in different countries, although it tends to goes unpunished—but there's usually workarounds to that.
Also frequently paid by check.
All you need is their IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Bank Identifier Code), and most mobile banking apps will let you set up a monthly direct debit.
What is this dark magic?!?! lol. The US is comically awful at consumer banking.
My sister recently had a stay in hospital, and then later an emergency room visit. As far as I'm aware, it all totaled less than €200 (half of which will be refunded by insurance, and another 20% of the remainder as a tax credit), which was all paid for partially by card (to the GP who referred us to the hospital), and partially by bank transfer (to the hospital).
I'm sorry, but what the fuck sort of paternalistic and defeatist attitude toward education is that?
EDIT: I would like to apologize, I swore in my previous edit of this comment. I did not swear enough. Seriously what the absolute fuck sort of attitude is that toward people and swearing?
The Netherlands has a supermarket (Marqt) which does not accept cash. Thankfully, there are alternatives. Marqt is also so expensive that you're either a yuppie with a debit card or can afford to pay a shopper if you're getting your food there.
That would be like an older person complaining they "have to have a smartphone" to see pictures of their grandkids, when it's actually the other around. Because smartphones exist, they can see pictures they otherwise would not have seen at all because no one would have driven to the store, printed them out, and mailed them (or had a camera to take them with) without that technology.
Contrast that to something like parking, where using a phone app provides convenience and decreased operating costs, but the service itself is in no way dependent on people having phones.
Well, if you can no longer pay for something that you used to be able to pay for with coins, you've lost something with a smartphone requirement.
Otherwise I get your argument but, if instead of smartphone, you say computer--now say that you don't really need a computer. You can phone people on your landline but many people won't pick up. OK, you can't use Amazon but there are local stores you can get to. And so forth. At some point, it's probably not like you'll starve but you're cut off from a lot of modern interaction.
Ah, that makes sense. I've never used those. I've used taxi cabs but maybe I am missing out or paying more than I should.
At least in my experience, you're not doing either of those things.
There are numerous streets that dont have meters now and just a sign to "pay on this parking app"
I'm curious. Do you get roaming charges having cross state-lines in the US, or do you have a nation-wide data package? Here in the EU, I'm on a plan that gives me unlimited data anywhere in europe, for around 30€ a month.
Interesting. But those plans are not everywhere. I believe that the EU law is having a cap of (currently) 2€/GB for data consumption beyond the amount allowed outside home borders, which is computed by some providers as a proportion of the monthly fee.
Additionally every bank has an app and some of them don't have branches in every city so they say "just deposit checks via mobile"
It was a shame because I would have liked to give out maps to the kids so they could navigate/orient themselves.
A few days afterward, I actually went to the trouble of printing nice legal-sized color versions of the map at Staples to give to the kids as mementos. Sure enough, they loved looking at and discussing those maps just like I did as a kid.
Next time we go I'm printing maps ahead of time so we can have them while we're there.
MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL all do this with league-branded apps and/or partnerships with Ticketmaster, etc
There were Sony hearing aids discussed here yesterday, requires an app to configure.
Aunt's hottub/pool requires an app to configure.
Many Universities require them.
That said, there are manual workarounds to almost everything requiring a smartphone. They’re simply less efficient.
If I can conveniently print out a boarding pass either at home or at the airport I tend to do so. That way I'm not fiddling with my phone when I don't need to.
(I think I've seen it the other way around in London at least.)
I'm sorry, what? Outside the US I just show my boarding card prior to going through security. I'm pretty sure my ID doesn't get checked until I board the plane, so hearing that you show biometrics is a bit jarring.
I was in the US a few weeks ago, but I can't remember if I had to show ID when going through security on leaving. I tend to work on autopilot when navigating airports.