Tag: fintech

For thousands of years humanity was able to function without computers.

There is no question that technical advances have helped the world evolve. The evolution includes advancements like the wheel and running water. We’ve progressed from horse and buggy to automobiles and from steamboats to cruise ships. We’ve moved from handwritten letters to instant messaging. The world has become smaller.

Yet, this is not a good thing in all cases.

Yes, it is great to be able to carry around a computer in your pants’ back pocket. Having the ability to call anyone at any time from anywhere is great. To be able to take a picture without carrying extra gear is wonderful. Doing complex math or signing documents from the comfort of your office’s bathroom is a treat.

But when is enough enough? What transactions should not be automated? What is the cost of total reliance on technology?

Note that I hate online banking and do not use my phone for such transactions. I do not use apps to pay bills. I do not count on my phone to be a safe place for financial information. I had 3 different banking accounts hacked in 3 months. These were accounts from two banks. I do not trust that the banks can keep online information safe and secure. I do not trust them to safeguard my money either.


Stadiums are going to cashless transactions. You cannot show up at a baseball game and buy a ticket with the MLB App on your phone. Want a beer? Better have a cash app because even vendors are not taking cash. It is a world that discriminates against people that do not use tech, can’t afford tech, don’t trust tech or rather just use cash.

The destruction of communication, education, common sense and critical thinking can be directly attributed to technology.

In war, countries first attack their enemy’s communication channels.  Those that control messaging control the world.

Our world is handing power over to servers buried in mountains, operated by nameless, faceless people that the consumer knows nothing about.

We are being asked to trust anyone that knows C++ simply because they know how to use 0s and 1s.

Yesterday I had to download Venmo to make a purchase. To know one’s fault but my own, I sent payment to the wrong phone number.  After 24 hours of trying to rectify the situation, using AP supplied help pages, nothing is getting done. Why? Their technology is not functioning. I called Venmo cutomer support . No one was there. Technology that wasn’t working was.

A consumer used to make a mistake. The consumer would make a call and talk to a human being. They would communicate the issue, and the issue would be resolved.

Now when something goes wrong, technology must notify other technology. We are left to hope that this technology can do its job.

When technology cannot or will not fix a problem, the consumer that technology was designed to help gets left holding the bag. Companies left holding our money.

The value of technology only goes so far.

The value of people, communication, thinking, and problem solving is being dismissed.

And that is why we are where we are as a society.

Misinformation, errors that screw the consumer, technology that rewards companies for half assing their responsibilities and enables greed.

I will take people over technology anyway.

As soon as I get this Venmo situation fixed, my account will be deleted. It will sit next to my Bank of America and Pay Pal apps in the trash bin on my phone.

Venmo is being deleted not because of my mistake,but deleted because of the inability of technology to be anything more than a power surge away from wiping out everything as we know it.