i have yet to use one of these digital wallets but i would imagine a large part of it is “because everyone around me is doing it.” not necessarily herd mentality but the social shift of it making checkout processes faster so if you’re using cash or a card, you’re inconveniencing the people in line behind you (however rational that may be is another topic).

i live in a semi-rural area and have seen very few instances of someone paying with their phone. it’s so rare here, i’m not even sure how the process works. tap to pay with a card has only recently been more normalized here. however, when i travel for work to big cities, it seems like the only times cards are used is when there is a large group meal at a fancier restaurant.

i also carry a small amount of cash in case my card fails or a card machine is down but it’s very rare to see cash used here as well, except for personal payments. even then, third party pseudo-bank apps are consuming that process (cashapp, venmo, etc.).

i’m not trying to justify any of these payment processes or mark one as better than the others. it’s just an observation.

For me digital wallet is a bit more convenient than using my real wallet, but not essential. I have one credit card that I use all the time, but it seems my bank hasn’t bothered to make it work with NFC payments yet for some reason, but it works with Google Wallet so that’s nice.

I also always keep my wallet with credit cards and a little bit of cash as a backup. One time I was out at a bar and there was a power outage. They were still serving drinks, but instantly all transactions switched to cash only. I think it makes a lot of sense to have backup options.

The opposite can be good too – your phone as a backup just in case you forget your wallet.

It’s probably not entirely been worth the effort to stay up to date with changes whenever Google breaks things. At some point I may stop. I guess one immediate value has been that watching things unfold has hastened the souring of my view on Google. I am now frequently looking for ways to avoid their ecosystem, and avoid big companies / non open source in general. I’m far from ready to leave the ecosystem on every front. But at the very least, I would never recommend a Google product in my professional life at this point, at least not without careful planning of an exit strategy.

well, I totally could live without it. Its just nice to have in case I don’t have my card/cash as a last resort kind of thing. all I do is add the magisk patch, and add shamiko, keep it somewhat updated, and it’ll work 99% of the time I use it. As for google, they probably do this to reduce liability on their end if something does happen. I haven’t heard of any issues from anyone so far.

Last time I used one was because I forgot my physical wallet and needed to pay for something. I don’t want to tell Google about my shopping habits, but I like to have options in case of emergency.

I’m running LineageOS (with GMS), Magisk, and Play Integrity Fix.

I feel the way you do. I always keep some cash, don’t bother with those cash apps, and use a credit card with a good cash back plan. To me the cost of going digital in this area outweighs all benefits.

I’m not dealing with all this tracking and surveillance bullshit on a regular basis. No digital wallets, no mobile payment. Cash as much as possible. Where I live most stores allow cash withdrawal, I’ll literally rather withdraw cash in one go and then pay with that cash at the same check out to server the link between the me and purchase. I do keep a modest amount of cash at home.