In several nations making payments using mobile applications is becoming a popular trend. I am of the opinion that the benefits significantly outweigh the disadvantages, because it is convenient, safe and allows the tracking of expenses. Conversely, cybercrime and lack of data security and privacy are on the rise.
Making cashless purchases is really easy, and can be done from anywhere; removing the constraint of having to make physical transactions. It also increases the speed and accuracy of payment. Not having to exchange cash and counting the amount to avoid mistakes helps transactions move smoothly. For instance, when buying something, like land, worth millions having to just make a financial transfer directly to the sales person account, without the hassle of cashing cash and calculating it to be sure, makes it less cumbersome and fast. Moreso, these applications come in handy for security. Moving around with money is detrimental to one’s safety, as it leaves one vulnerable to theft, but applications have solved this problem as you only need to carry your phone and to have access to any amount of money you may need at any time without the burden of carrying cash and keeping it secured.
Furthermore, these apps keep an immediate and accurate record of expenses. It helps with tracing habits that have financial repercussions, where it could easily go unnoticed. It also helps with correct budgeting. Tracking expenses can be a tard difficult when making payments with cash, as it could have some mistakes and omissions. For instance, going through bank apps used for payments and the end of each month gives one a very detailed insight into one’s spending habits and things that could be removed to the more financially responsible.
However, everything that has merits has some demerits. One of which is cybercrime; the increase in usage of these apps is directly proportional to the increase of cybercrime. Having everything online increases the risk of hacking and the lack of security consciousness when making online payments causes many individuals to be victims of these scams. For instance, when buying items from online stores, filling confidential financial information, like card number, pin and others, is necessary to initiate a successful transaction. But some people leave such information, that is directly linked to bank accounts, on sites that are not secured leading to loss of money and savings. In addition, Lack of data security and privacy is a major drawback when using mobile apps. This occurs because at any point purchase is made the item is recorded by these applications and most times shared with no clear consent, this causes similar items to always be recommended when scrolling through your phone. This leads to lack of privacy and trust.
To conclude, while purchases made with phone applications help with convenience, and record keeping, being alert and aware of cybercrime, like hacking of bank accounts or sites where sensitive financial information is computed and saved, is very essential.