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Original poster

Does your DC leave their bank cards at home and rely on their phone?

109 replies

endoftetha · 04/08/2024 12:11

My son (17) has a debit card, but leaves it at home and uses Google Pay on his phone instead, even when travelling away from home in the UK for a few days to visit friends etc. I'm concerned he will get stranded if he either
(a) loses his phone or
(b) runs out of battery.

His counter-argument for scenario (a) is that he will be more likely to lose his card if it is in a separate wallet because he uses it so infrequently. Plus, he wants to travel light, not have multiple things to carry.

He doesn't really have a counter-argument for (b), other than "it has never happened".

We live in London, so he does carry a 16+ Oyster Zip photocard in his phone case. There isn't space for his debit card too, so he probably just needs a better case. I know my niece has a card wallet stuck to the back of her phone, but it looks to me like it could easily come unstuck.

Any recommendations for a good secure setup for a phone and a couple of cards? What does your equivalent young person do?

OP posts:
DoTheRoary · 04/08/2024 12:13

I leave my cards at home too and I'm nearly 50. I have been caught out but only twice...

EffinMagicFairy · 04/08/2024 12:15

I’m 58 and leave my cards at home, on holiday I may take them but I tend to leave them in the room safe.

LegArmpits · 04/08/2024 12:15

And me.

boobleblingo · 04/08/2024 12:16

I leave my cards at home.

Sirzy · 04/08/2024 12:18

If he lost his phone he would also lose his case too surely?

to be honest I rarely take my cards out either and have never had an issue.

Procrastinates · 04/08/2024 12:18

I don't know many people who take a wallet or purse with them these days, almost everyone either uses their phone or has just a solitary card with them often stored in their phone case.

I wouldn't see an issue with him not taking it.

TheNinthLock · 04/08/2024 12:18

We (two mid 50s adults and two early 20s adults) all leave our cards at home.
Popping to the shops is now “have you got your phone” instead of “have you got your wallet”

Original poster
endoftetha · 04/08/2024 12:18

DoTheRoary · 04/08/2024 12:13

I leave my cards at home too and I'm nearly 50. I have been caught out but only twice...

Yep, I did consider changing that sentence to "you or your young person", but I'm conscious that whatever solution I propose to him needs to appeal to a 17yo boy's taste.

OP posts:
Original poster
endoftetha · 04/08/2024 12:20

TheNinthLock · 04/08/2024 12:18

We (two mid 50s adults and two early 20s adults) all leave our cards at home.
Popping to the shops is now “have you got your phone” instead of “have you got your wallet”

But if you or your young adults were travelling to a different city for a week, would you/they just take their phone?

OP posts:
Lancelottie · 04/08/2024 12:23

Hmm, well, my ds dropped his phone from his pocket overboard into the sea. Fortunately he was with us, and didn't have the phone as his only source of travel docs. I wouldn't travel relying on a phone alone.

Prisonbreak · 04/08/2024 12:24

This really isn’t any different to how it was when we were younger. We had cards but no mobile phone. If you lost your card you were just as stuck

Original poster
endoftetha · 04/08/2024 12:24

Sirzy · 04/08/2024 12:18

If he lost his phone he would also lose his case too surely?

to be honest I rarely take my cards out either and have never had an issue.

Yep, it would only help with scenario (b), not scenario (a).

OP posts:
Original poster
endoftetha · 04/08/2024 12:25

Any recommendations for a good secure setup for a phone and a couple of cards?

OP posts:
suggestionsplease1 · 04/08/2024 12:26

I tend to just use my phone if out for the day, but if I was going away for a few days yes I would want backup in case anything went wrong and would take cards.

Similarly before I used my phone and I would tend to only take one back card out with me for day, but if going away for a few days I would take 2 debit cards and a credit card too, just in case there was an issue with a bank, or I lost one.

Jk987 · 04/08/2024 12:26

They'll always be a way forward if he gets caught out with no battery etc. He'll borrow from friends etc. It will be inconvenient not a disaster so I'd let him get on with it. He'll learn if things go wrong.

TheNinthLock · 04/08/2024 12:27

endoftetha · 04/08/2024 12:20

But if you or your young adults were travelling to a different city for a week, would you/they just take their phone?

Show quote history

Yes. Dd is currently away with friends in the UK. She packed her phone, charger and battery pack. Her purse with her bank cards is on the shelf in her bedroom.
Ds’s girlfriend is studying abroad, he only takes cards when visiting her.

Edited to add - dh and I would pack cards as a back up, the dc won’t.

suggestionsplease1 · 04/08/2024 12:28

endoftetha · 04/08/2024 12:25

Any recommendations for a good secure setup for a phone and a couple of cards?

Honestly if he really want to travel ultra light (like me, I am a huge fan 😂) I just carry phone in one pocket and bank card in another pocket.

That way he can't lose the card if he pulls his phone out and the card is in the same pocket and slips out with it.

Tikk · 04/08/2024 12:29

Mine did that, went to Japan for a month and then realised they don't take Apple Pay. That was a bit of a pain Grin

Gerwurtztraminer · 04/08/2024 12:31

I use the tube in central London frequently and can't tell you how many times I've seen people unable to go through the gates as their phone payment system won't work. Cue lots of arguing with TfL staff who won't let them go in, and/or get a fine if they are trying to get out.

I think relying just on a phone is madness, especially if on holiday away from home. Phones get lost, broken, & stolen all the time, along with battery dying, and without a card you'd be stranded.

But I doubt you can get someone who doesn't see the point in carrying a card to do so. They will just have to learn the hard way.

Blisterly · 04/08/2024 12:32

I don’t use my cards and I’m 40! Even abroad I don’t use take them. I have a small portable charger in case my battery runs low.

DoTheRoary · 04/08/2024 12:34

Sorry, yes I see what you mean. I have two cards attached to my phone so if one doesn't work(aka for the card to be inserted) then I swap to the other. In all honesty if I lost my phone I'd be totally stuck and would need to ring my husband who is the only person whose phone number I know off my heart. I'd then hope that he could talk to a bank who could authorise a cash withdrawal. You make a very valid point for the younger generation who probably don't know any phone numbers by heart.
I think from now, when traveling, I'll make a note of phone numbers and bank phone number and put copies in all my traveling bags, pockets etc.

MrsBobtonTrent · 04/08/2024 12:35

Mine take a card with them as some of the buses around here can't take apple pay. Also, if you want to get cash out, you need a physical card. Both have phone cases that have slots for couple of cards. Both need cards for school/college, so no bother to take a bank card as well. They also have an emergency tenner which was moaned about until it was useful.

fruitpastille · 04/08/2024 12:36

What about an emergency £20 note and a bit of paper with a couple of emergency phone numbers in the case of the phone? Or even better in his pocket. Then if the phone is completely broken or stolen he has options.

Mousefoot · 04/08/2024 12:37

I lost my card yesterday. I took it "just in case" when I would have been fine with my phone.

I usually figure, unless I'm on my own, I'll get by by using someone else's phone or having them sub me and sort it out when my phone's up and running again. So I do have a contingency.

suggestionsplease1 · 04/08/2024 12:38

I'd still recommend keeping a bank card or emergency cash in a separate pocket...if you lose your phone you've still lost everything if they're in the case.

Separate pocket also means no issue with them accidentally slipping out and getting lost when the phone is taken out. (I speak from experience 😂)