2022.08.01
Payment for public transport in London is really simple. It can be confusing at first. because you can't use cash. Also, you can't buy it on board. For subways and trains, it is possible to purchase at a vending machine before the ticket gate, but to board a bus, you will need an Oyster card similler to Suica in Japan, a touch payment credit card (contactless, non-contact type) However, after a few weeks you get used to it. In fact, I myself felt that the system is far simpler and easier to use than in Japan.
Many local residents use touch payment credit cards. Except for visitors from transitional regions like Japan or someone who does not have such card by some reason. Oyster card users seem to be few. Is it secure against loss or theft? It's not that I don't think so, but it's just as convenient as Japan stuffing its smartphone with a lot of virtual cards. light and fast. It may be safer if you can cover everything from eating and drinking to shopping with a single plastic card. It is less likely to have communication problems or breakdowns like a smartphone, and even if it is lost or stolen, it is easy to recover.
When this happens, it becomes impossible to understand the circumstances surrounding the Japanese card business and payment business. The idea may be to enclose customers, but there are too many types of electronic money, transportation systems, QR codes, etc., and I don't understand why. Chaos. From a macro perspective, it is hard to imagine that the localized competition to contain financial institutions, telecommunications companies, transportation facilities, retailers, etc., with a focus on payments, will bring happiness to Japan. This is because, while it may bring benefits to some consumers, others will be exhausted, including those on the providing side. Installation of equipment in stores (capital investment), burden on employees (education and learning), continued use of cash by people who cannot catch up, etc. Looking calmly at society as a whole, the disadvantages caused by chaos are far greater. Risks and losses other than system security will also occur.
It is a misunderstanding and perversion to interpret this trend as DX. DX is not about using new tools and technologies. Rather, true DX is the idea and realization of reducing the burden on users (not only users but also designers and developers), utilizing resources for business development, and contribution to the wealth of society. Restaurants in London no longer need cash registers, and most supermarkets and drugstores are self-checkout. The effect of reducing unskilled labor has a tremendous effect from a macro perspective. Of course, parallel promotion with education and reskilling is necessary. In addition, if we consider the example of the bus at the beginning, the driver can concentrate on learning driving skills, so it will be possible to strengthen safety and accept human resources who are not native English speakers.
It's enough limited self-satisfied IT engineers to go tech-first without discussing macro-level automation, standardization, and simplification. If the company is satisfied as long as its own company is good, it will leave a root of trouble in the future as a strategy of a nation with a declining population.
