The other weekend I ventured out to one of my favourite tapas restaurants in Palma. What I didn’t know is that it had changed hands and has introduced a new payment policy - no cash, card only. That would not have been a problem had their credit card machine been working; they were still waiting to be connected. Could I pay by Bizum? My partner who, like many no doubt, is not Bizum-friendly, looked at me in horror as she had no cash, just cards. Fortunately, I do know how to use Bizum and paid, but the restaurant lost out on a tip and I am sure many more will. I fear this will be the case for many bars and restaurants as we move into this pay by plastic on your phone generation.
Personally, the last thing I would load on to my phone is my credit card. I’m not too comfortable about online banking via my phone, but I have no option as banks continue to close down branches and even then they offer fewer and fewer face-time personal services. I suppose one good thing that came out of the pandemic was that the world became much more digital savvy thanks to having to work from home and keep in contact with friends and family by Zoom or the many other platforms available. But it also fuelled an online shopping frenzy, which many people got carried away with, got addicted to and burnt their credit cards with compulsive shopping. At least with cash in your pocket you physically know how much money you have and how much you are spending. When everything is being paid for by your phone or smart watch, it’s all become so easy to get carried away and spend what you haven’t got, especially under the current economic climate.