I generally think cultures take awhile to shift to adopting new technologies like that en masse. I remember when Apple came out with Passbook some years ago and a friend of mine she can’t wait to have her driving licence on her phone and I laughed in her face. I said we only just got rid of paper licences a few years ago. Digital IDs won’t be here for years! It’s not just bureaucracy though. Humans and society have to adapt to technologies and vice versa. A good example is the barriers for the Underground could open for you without you having to reach for your wallet or phone, but its the mere fact that we desire that feedback loop that TfL decided to implement the current system instead.
could open for you without you having to reach for your wallet or phone
How? NFC has a 10-15 cm maximum range and active RFID (which does have the required range) would require a powered card with a battery that you’d need to replace/recharge frequently.
I’m not sure of whats the technical power is behind it but its was an article I read some years ago. I’ll see if I can find it.
In Florida we have a sticker that you can place in your windscreen that gets read by a device about 50 feet above. They use that to debit your account for tolls and the sticker has no electronics so it definitely exists.
Definitely a great idea IMO for international students to actually get a Monzo before even landing in the UK. It just doesn’t make sense to get to the UK then only start the long and painstaking process of opening a bank account. How am I gonna pay my school fees? Without paying my fees I wasn’t able to register as a student to attend induction classes. Surely at this modern day and age, there’s a solution for this??
Biometrics just means you’re mapped to your identity by human characteristics eg iris patterns, fingerprints. I’m assuming that would make identity checks a lot easier? But the process legacy banks are using is no doubt outdated. I understand the reasoning behind wanting to ensure customers have a valid UK address, but documents and cards are posted out to that address. No one’s going to put down a fake address and end up not receiving it (??)
I am also an international student taking an undergraduate degree in the UK – had to get a NatWest account first before signing up with Monzo to get the prepaid card (or else the top-up via debit card would not be feasible). Indeed most UK high street banks either don’t offer service to non-permanent-residents or just cut away all the benefits and give you a very basic bank account (my NatWest debit card isn’t even contactless). Monzo feels far friendlier and easier to deal with, and for those who frequent Europe during their studies in the UK it is wonderful to have an actually functional card as opposed to one that rips you off. I do agree that there is a huge market to dig into here – pretty sure all the Asian money-savvy students would swarm over for a foreign-fee-free card.