In the era of techno-economic world, plastic money such as credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards have revolutionized the payment ecosystem across the globe. It offers freedom not only from carrying heavy bundles of bank notes and heavy coins but also from fear of theft. However, it has downsides also like – online scams, multiple charges, etcetera.
On the one hand, convenience of carrying them in your wallets is one of the positive. They basically made out of plastic. Thus, they are lightweight and easy to carry. Along with the convenience, it diminished the necessity to carry notes and coins, making it insulating from theft. As they need a password for withdrawal. Without it they are useless. The aforementioned advantages allows me to carry them in my pocket as I don’t need my wallet anymore.
On the other hand, it has some demerits. Firstly, advancements in technology have made these cards more vulnerable to online scams such as phishing and card cloning. There is a possibility of losing all the money in bank accounts with a single click on mobile devices. Secondly, these cards often come with hidden charges, making them costly to use. For example, unexpected delays in paying credit card dues invite higher interest rates. Many banks apply convenience fees on the use of these cards.
In a nutshell, popularity of plastic cards lies in the practicality of it’s usage. They definitely decreasing weight of a wallet and insulating one’s hard-earned money from theft from buglers. However, security architecture of the global payment system needs to be strengthened for making them more secure to use and regulating heavy charges applied on them to make them affordable for all.