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Comment by Mithaldu | Hacker News Reader

> the wallets of this world satisfy nobody

I don't know what it's like in the USA, but in germany wallets of this type are used by everybody and everybody's happy: http://i.imgur.com/v3mRk1H.jpg

Still, nice to read more details about the internal workings of a kickstarter campaign.

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That's similar to what I use and so long as I'm fairly disciplined about not letting stuff I don't really need to carry around pile up in it, it's pretty compact. I went through a period of trying other options for wallet or wallet plus phone and I came back to a relatively thin and basic but pretty standard bi-fold wallet.

I think a lot of it is that most people don't need to carry either too much plastic or too much cash these days. Most of the gas and store credit cards are gone or at least not widely used. A lot of information is on your smartphone. Many people use cash less.

As a result, a lot of people are experimenting with minimalist wallets or phone cases that can be used instead of wallets.

I've got something like that. I find that whenever I look at the designs on kickstarter and elsewhere they all don't have space for coins.

I've got 9 coins in my wallet right now (I live in a country with $1 and $2 coins) so having a wallet with no space for them isn't really an option.

Was just having this conversation with a (recently ex) European. When I in the US (regrettably) end up with coins I dump them in a jar when I get home and periodically bring them in for redemption in "real money." Doesn't really work when you have $1 and $2 coins. Mostly I avoid using cash on a day to day basis.

I dump my coins in a jar when I get home and we have $1 and $2 coins (Australia). It's really not that big a deal having your minimum purchase price of things be $5. Your coin jar will get >$1000 in it reasonably quickly too which is nice ;)

It is considered unfashionable to have wallets bulge out of the front of your jeans, and it is uncomfortable to have them in your back pocket. If you put the wallet in your coat or bag, you may forget it at home. All of this has lead to people being frustrated that they can't find a good solution, but we all know the solution is to just get rid of the wallet altogether and replace it with a fingerprint decrypted digital wallet + id on a smartphone.

I get one of those bought for me nearly every Christmas.

I despise them. I think you can probably get back issues from sitting on them.

My girlfriend won me a humn wallet (featured in the article) for free and I've been using that. I've gone through several types of slim wallets, and for a couple of years just wrapped a few cards in cash and put a solid rubber band around it.

6-8 pieces of leather adds a significant amount of thickness--your wallet is thicker when empty than mine is fully loaded.

That wallet looks massive, and would certainly invite back problems. I've carried a minimalist front pocket wallet for years now and I'll never go back. My current favorite is this wallet, in natural leather:

https://www.weargustin.com/store/1579

Living in Switzerland, this is way to big for me, my pockets aren't that big :) I wouldn't want anything bigger than a phone (my current wallet is ~2/3 of a 5" smartphone).

(Phone in one pocket, wallet, keys and work badge in the other).

I've replaced my wallet with one of these:

http://www.allreli.com/product/allreli-google-lg-nexus-5-fli...

It has space for two cards and 3-4 paper notes.

I have two sets of keys; one with my car keys, the other with bicycle keys + work badge.

I went the total opposite with my wallet - comparison with an iPhone 6 plus: http://i.imgur.com/1zGqaGY.jpg ;)

I think priorities are different if you have a purse/bag you regularly use that can hold a wallet. Still couldn't find a wallet I loved though, that one I had to settle for. (I also use a lot of cash when possible so it made sense not to go minimal.)

I use a lot of cash too--I typically have 20ish bills on my person.

Lately I just fold them up and put them inside the band of a slim wallet. In the past I just bundled them with a rubber band.

I'm a lady who carries around a purse or bag on a regular basis and I still prefer a pretty slim wallet; I haven't found anything I like more than the denim Hello Kitty wallet I've been carrying for like twenty years.

I've also all but abandoned cash. My needs are clearly not yours.

I think a major differentiator is that in the EU credit cards are a lot less common and even debit cards aren't used for most transactions (e.g. even at the supermarket most people seem to pay cash). Additionally, there are € 1 and € 2 coins, notes only start at € 5 and up. So you not only carry around a lot of cash, but you also generally need to be able to carry around a lot of coinage, too.

This has been the only thing stopping me from getting a smaller wallet, personally. I have one of those (which are okay if you carry them in your front pocket and don't wear formal attire) and I'd replace them with something simpler at the drop of a hat if it wouldn't mean ending up with loose change in your pocket.

>I think a major differentiator is that in the EU credit cards are a lot less common and even debit cards aren't used for most transactions

This is just plain wrong for many European countries.

"I think a major differentiator is that in the EU credit cards are a lot less common and even debit cards aren't used for most transactions (e.g. even at the supermarket most people seem to pay cash)."

Absolutely not true for every European county.

In London, 30% of transactions under £20 aren't just cashless - they're contactless. I seldom use cash and that's true for most people I know.

Do you happen to have a source?

"Barclaycard said contactless cards had been most popular in London, where 30% of all transactions below £20 were contactless." -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31164806

The article is really about from Sept 2015, the limit for contactless payment goes up to £30.

Opposite experience here: saw lots of cash usage (not necessarily coins but lots of paper) in North-America while here in the Netherlands we're all 'bout that debit card.

It's true that credit cards aren't popular in Europe or where I'm speaking from, the Netherlands, as there are lots of bank-integrated payment processors like iDeal in the netherlands (cheaper than creditcards for merchants, free to users, instant and without chargeback risk) for online transactions, and things like SEPA (also generally free and fast) or Paypal exist for international transfers. I only use my CC when making a rare purchase online where I absolutely have to, or sometimes to book a flight or hotel abroad.

For everything in store though, debit cards are extremely well used. And as the debit card is connected to a bank account that offers credit, too, they function like creditcards. (and I can indeed use my debit card e.g. in the North America, China or Africa). So while 'creditcard' numbers in reports aren't as high as the US, cards that offer credit are ubiquitous.

In fact I don't think I've paid with cash in the past 10 years here in Europe, except in clubs where paying with a card is weird (unless you booked a table which is a bit silly for anything other than a holiday imo) and that's not a joke. I'm not sure what it's like in say Portugal, but I really don't need to keep any coin around unless I go to the local market, a club or my shady barber. Where are you based in Europe?

Beyond that though my wallet is loaded with cards. Public transport, insurance, student id, gym (up until they moved to a fingerprint scanner), discount card at supermarket etc.

Given all this I don't think I'll be carrying a wallet in the 2020s, any credentials that are on the chip in my plastic cards can go on the chip on my phone. Kind of scary in a way, cash is a bit like in-person communication, it's not monitored the way that digital communication is monitored by government, businesses and malicious parties. The death of cash at some point means our entire economic life is recorded by banks which worries me every now and then, although it'll probably be decades before it's phased out completely and the majority of economic activity has been digital for a long time, but still.

edit -- seems you're right! Two years ago the majority of transactions (53%) was still cash based. Much more popular than I'd have thought. Guess I'm a huge outlier. Debit has grown 15% since then so it might be slightly different today.

Still it's not true that it's necessary to carry a lot of coin, at least not where I live. Even at markets like this: http://hoogeveenheefthet.nl/site1/images/stories/bedrijven/m...

about 40% take cards. At supermarkets it's virtually 100% and there are special checkouts for card transactions where you can't pay with cash (because cash transactions are more expensive, take longer to process, have a higher error rate and make the shop a bigger target to theft). I honestly barely ever use cash.

Interesting. I stand corrected.

I was extrapolating from my personal experience in Germany and as a tourist in other EU countries. It seems that my experience is not representative of that of residents of some of those countries.

I wonder why Germany is so different.

>> I think a major differentiator is that in the EU credit cards are a lot less common and even debit cards aren't used for most transactions (e.g. even at the supermarket most people seem to pay cash).

Definitely wrong. In Denmark I never carry any cash. In US I have to carry at least some cash. Why are there no bigger bills than $100?

I'm sorry, but I'm struggling to come up with a reason why you would want a note above $100?

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