How I lost my wallet

I should probably start by saying, I am not the kind of person that loses things, however…

Over the Christmas period 2021 I did all the usual stuff; shopping, eating, drinking, cabbing, clubbing, pubbing – you get the picture. Immediately after that, I lost my wallet!

Christmas and Boxing Day over, it occurred to me (over a drink with friends) that I’d not been using my cards much, if at all, so I decided to embark on a small and totally unscientific experiment. Drop the wallet.

I’ve always loved tech and consider myself something of an early adopter, but by not carrying my wallet at all, was it a step too far?

Over the first seven months I’ve encountered a few very minor hiccups. I missed out on a ‘Dollar slice’ in New York, a much-needed bottle of cold water from a vending machine at Waterloo Station, a pretzel in Zurich and a visit to the loo in Barcelona!

However, I’ve also had some slightly more toe-curling incidents that almost brought my experiment to an abrupt end, not least of which was in an Apple Store when I went to collect my new MacBook Air (great purchase btw, go me!). As you would imagine paying was not a problem, there is no contactless limit on ApplePay when you’re in an Apple Store, the issue was with my total lack of wallet.

No wallet, no ID!

I had considered this may be an issue (I don’t look under 18, 21 or even 35) but you can often be asked in the US, so I had taken a look around at a solution. Unless you’re in a couple of specific States in the US you can’t add your ID to your AppleWallet (please take note UK Gov) but I had found Yoti and added my Passport and Driving License accordingly, it ratified these in some way and has worked in a few overzealous supermarkets but not, it would seem, in the hallowed halls of my favourite Apple Store! After some considerable negotiation and a quick chat with the very helpful Manager we all agreed I was asking for trouble, but the app was acceptable, and I got my Mac – sadness averted.

Car parks, be warned, for some reason an awful lot of car parks hate ApplePay, no idea why, they just do. The pay-by-app options have been great but take heed. 

Don't get me started on hotels!

And hotels, don’t get me started on hotels! Probably the last place I had to send a fax to (ask your parents) was a hotel, why they stick to some of the most draconian technology is beyond me. Despite booking on their own website using my own card (details stored securely in Google Chrome) they needed to ‘swipe upon arrival’. “But I don’t have my card, only my AppleWallet” – SILENCE – “Then how are you going to pay” the very polite and smartly dressed clerk asked, “With ApplePay, but you can’t swipe an AppleWallet” I said – this went on for some time and escalated up the chain rapidly until (yet again) The Manager was called. She could see the issue, but had no idea how to deal with it. We came to an agreement that I would give her the number of my card (available through my banking app) and that would be enough, on this occasion. I was glad of the outcome as a night on the tiles in Temple Bar was not on my list for this trip! I had a very similar experience in Barcelona, but I had the solution this time so the whole thing was a little less painful.

Not all doom and gloom.

It’s certainly not all doom and gloom, far from. I've not had to bother with cash, even whilst travelling and that's great. I love not fiddling for my Oyster as I approach the gates, there's no wondering if I have to insert my card or enter my pin - no limit on ApplePay. The whole process is more secure, my credit cards don’t have FaceID on them and let’s be honest, it’s one less thing to carry/ forget/ worry about.

In short, I lost my wallet and I couldn’t be happier.

#ApplePay #AppleWallet #GoogleChrome #YOTI #Contactless #Cashless