Giving our lives to our phones

No longer for just making phone calls and sending text messages, the humble mobile phone has become an important part of our lives. Organising finances, shopping and using them to travel, are some of the latest things we can do on smartphones. With many people happy to add so much of their lives to these devices.

Looking into how comfortable with moving their whole lives onto their phones people are in the UK, online cartridge company, Cartridge Save asked those aged over 18 living in the UK about using these kinds of options on their phones. You can see the full results in this handy infographic.

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‘Digital Wallets’ on our mobile devices are a relatively new addition, they are you can use to pay for goods and services in shops or online. Currently only 30% of Brits have used Digital Wallets, other are not yet convince. Security was a concern for 31% surveyed as well as 19% of people who were worried about fraud when using digital wallets. People are more comfortable using tap-and-go options on their bank cards 65% of people surveyed used this method of payment. However 14% were concerned about how much could be spent if a card is stolen.

Digital wallets and tap-and-go contactless options are becoming more popular and now places are starting to adapt, even if some are forced to. EU rules state by 2020 it will be compulsory for all parking machines to offer tap-and-go payments, which will make it easier when you run out of change, increasingly more likely if we use contactless for small amounts. The survey found that 78% of people would prefer tap-and-go payment options for parking machines and vending machines, these changes are slowly been brought in, in the UK.

Speaking about the study Ian Cowley, Managing Director of Cartridge Save said:

“Technology is designed to make our lives easier, so we can see why e-tickets have become popular. Airports add charges for printing boarding cards for passengers, and if you don’t have a printer at home it can be tricky to print your own unless there is an option in the airport. Many railway stations have been adapted for tap and go tickets, hopefully e-tickets will follow suit”

He added:

“E-tickets and digital wallets make sense on mobile devices, we do however understand some concerns over battery lasting long enough on devices. But you can always carry a charger with you to top it up on the go. Security across the board is a concern for many in an age where it seems easy for people to glean your personal information, you certainly would want to know cards stored on mobile devices are safe. Also what you can do if you lose your phone or it’s stolen, can you easily and safely store your tickets on a cloud where you can access them”

You can see the full details from this study by Cartridge Save here.