New Technology is useless crap.

[JeffersLos]

My grandson is staying for the holiday season, so I took him to the Mall to buy some things and play in the game's arcade. 

 

The games were always operated with little token coins. You go to the machine, put in 100 baht and you get 10 or 11 coin tokens. 

 

Now this simple system has been replaced with electronics.

 

Okay, go to the machine with its digital screen. No English option. No problem, I read and speak enough Thai to go through a registration process.

 

Wait. A registration process?

 

Yes. Now you need to register your personal information and get an electronic card to play on the game machines.

 

Okay. Pay with credit card, no thank you. Pay with cash. It needs 20 baht deposit. Fine.

 

Next screen. Type my name and phone number on the digital keyboard. Okay.

 

Put in my 20 baht note. It spits it back out immediately, landing at my feet. It literally threw the money on the ground in front of my feet.

 

Okay, put it in again, no. Turn it over, no.

Try another two 20 baht notes, exact same. 

 

Press cancel. Tell the machine to go <deleted> itself. And tell the grandson we'll play on his Nintendo Switch when we get home. 

 

What was wrong with the simple coin tokens? 

 

 

[ezzra]

And soon, we're all going to be a cashless society, this is what is the banks in Australia are planning to implement soon...

[TroubleandGrumpy]

I have been saying that for decades - and they continue to get worse and worse.

 

[HauptmannUK]

All over the world it seems that there is a push to 'cashless'. Invariably it involves use of a phone, some 'app' or other and then 'registration'. Invariably there is no interoperability between the various systems/apps.  I know in the UK there are 20+ different apps in use for paying for car parking.  Earlier this year my wife and I were in UK and visiting a popular beauty spot. The parking machine had been converted to cashless. I downloaded the required app but couldn't get it to work, gave an error message when I tried to register, and so I had to abandon the visit.

[Photoguy21]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

And soon, we're all going to be a cashless society, this is what is the banks in Australia are planning to implement soon...

And when they do bank theft will go through the roof.

[Lacessit]

If someone wants my business, they can either accept cash, or a debit card. If neither of those options work, it's goodbye.

I don't trust phone apps. They have had serious problems with data breaches, and harvest personal information.

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, JeffersLos said:

What was wrong with the simple coin tokens? 

Wasn't that the game? If you work at trying to catch the money before it hits the ground, maybe you will get to the next level?

 

Good for you w/your Thai language ability - always nice to hear that. 

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

And soon, we're all going to be a cashless society, this is what is the banks in Australia are planning to implement soon...

I was in Australia for six months this year. If not for withdrawing cash once as a gift, all my transactions there would have been done using a debit card.

[Hawaiian]

Technology is only good if it works.  The more complicated it gets the more the chance of failure.

[Hawaiian]

30 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

If someone wants my business, they can either accept cash, or a debit card. If neither of those options work, it's goodbye.

I don't trust phone apps. They have had serious problems with data breaches, and harvest personal information.

I refuse to own a debit card.  Once you get scammed out of money your chances of recovery are about zero.  My bank has always come to the rescue when I've had  problems with my credit card.  They even alert me when there is suspected fraud.

[Hawaiian]

34 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

If someone wants my business, they can either accept cash, or a debit card. If neither of those options work, it's goodbye.

I don't trust phone apps. They have had serious problems with data breaches, and harvest personal information.

I don't trust phone apps either.

[Hawaiian]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

And soon, we're all going to be a cashless society, this is what is the banks in Australia are planning to implement soon...

The Chinese are pushing digital currency to control the flow of money and to prevent the flight of capital.

Governments are in favor of a cashless society since it is easier to detect tax evasion.

[GypsyT]

Me neither!

One day Google and Apple cloud services WILL be hacked and ALL the funds are gone...

I'm Mr CASH and CC only, no debit cards. Ever.

 

[lom]

2 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

I have been saying that for decades - and they continue to get worse and worse.

They don't listen to you, eh?

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Hawaiian said:

I refuse to own a debit card.  Once you get scammed out of money your chances of recovery are about zero.  My bank has always come to the rescue when I've had  problems with my credit card.  They even alert me when there is suspected fraud.

I don't have a debit card with a bank, I use a credit union.

I've never been scammed on the debit card. The credit union's fraud section has called me several times when I have made a transaction from an unfamiliar place, or for a large amount, to verify the card user is myself.

I fail to see why any financial institution should have a different response to fraud, depending on whether the card is credit or debit.

[Hawaiian]

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I don't have a debit card with a bank, I use a credit union.

I've never been scammed on the debit card. The credit union's fraud section has called me several times when I have made a transaction from an unfamiliar place, or for a large amount, to verify the card user is myself.

I fail to see why any financial institution should have a different response to fraud, depending on whether the card is credit or debit.

The information about debit cards come from independent financial advisers.

They caution about having large amounts in your debit card account.  The fact that you never lost anything doesn't mean it can't happen.  There is always a first time.  Today's thieves are quite sophisticated and FAST.

Have you heard about the new gift card scams?  Customers are purchasing gift cards that have all of the money drained from them.  Stores unknowingly have  been selling worthless gift cards which hackers have bled.  Don't believe me?  Look it up.

[Lacessit]

11 minutes ago, Hawaiian said:

The information about debit cards come from independent financial advisers.

They caution about having large amounts in your debit card account.  The fact that you never lost anything doesn't mean it can't happen.  There is always a first time.  Today's thieves are quite sophisticated and FAST.

Have you heard about the new gift card scams?  Customers are purchasing gift cards that have all of the money drained from them.  Stores unknowingly have  been selling worthless gift cards which hackers have bled.  Don't believe me?  Look it up.

I believe you.  I give cash, not gift cards which at best tie the recipient to the store issuing the card.

As I said, the fraud department of my credit union is quite vigilant. YMMV.

[TroubleandGrumpy]

2 hours ago, lom said:

They don't listen to you, eh?

Yeh - I hear you. After all teenage girls never listen - and they are target consumers.