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Paying With the Wave of a Cellphone
holy_calamity writes "Tech Review discusses how it will soon be possible to pay in stores by waving your cellphone over a contactless reader, thanks to new handsets due next year, and RFID stickers and cases offered today by firms including Visa. It's convenient for shoppers, but a major driver of the technology is the opportunity for retailers to gain access to their customers' cellphones and social networks for marketing purposes."
How many transactions will I be doing from my pocket on a crowded subway?
I don't know but with any luck you will be paying for my porn site subscription and enough credit to download the videos on my anonymous PAYG phone. I might have enough credit left to call uncle Osama too. I don't know which will be worse, explaining to your wife about the porn or to the police about the calls to suspicious people in Afghanistan.
are also "a benefit" to the customer, in terms of discounts. But again, your giving your data to the shop and anyone else they pass it to.
I don't use loyalty cards, I won't use this. If they want my data, let them break the law to get it, just like the government does.
But then you can't pretend to be a Jedi by waving your hand and saying "I have paid for my drink".