" New Era " for Credit !

This week the practice of authorising a purchase made with a credit card by signing your name will come to an end.  From August 1 the vast array of terminals scattered throughout the shopping world will require customers to use a four digit PIN to validate every purchase - and that will create a massive problem for the huge number of elderly people making the slow descent into the fog of Dementia.

Sadly, it may tip the balance for those managing diminishing faculties. Some people who retain the ability to write and remember their own name find it impossible to remember a four digit number.   This brings the risk that they will write that number down  and keep it on their person, increasing their vulnerability for robbery.  It also raises the likelihood that many may be forced to limit their purchases to the new " Tap and Go " chip on their card - which includes purchases of no more than one hundred dollars.

The relentless progress of electronics seems to forget the vast grey army who live in a twilight world.   Their car is an essential method of transport, and yet advancing years are imposing more stringent restrictions on their right to hold a valid driving license.    These are the people the government is desperate to keep in their own homes to avoid spiralling costs of nursing home care.    They are usually the least remembered when it comes to the implementation of new methods to either cut costs or increase the speed of commerce.

It is a bewildering world for the many who have locked memories from an era just a few years past.  Those were the days when the telephone was their main means of communication - and news came when the daily newspaper arrived on their doorstep.   The Internet and the Smartphone were appliances they never really learned to understand - and they are totally mesmerised by the magic gismos that delivery people produce whenever a home delivery happens.

Having a Smartphone thrust into one's hand with an electronic stylus with which a signature is expected can be daunting for even a younger person,  and the fact that the resulting signature would be completely unrecogniseable to their bank manager seems of little consequence.     Welcome to the world of the twenty-first century !

This change to the credit card protocols will certainly cause it's share of problems, but these problems are simply a challenge that needs solution if the elderly are to maintain their way of life and not become an additional burden on the government.   Much good work has already been done in organizing home help to provide basic cleaning - and now a shopping service may need to be added to that list.

Every new innovation needs a degree of modification to ensure that it can be used by the whole spectrum of humanity !