theddo

Many years ago in Sweden something called "Cash" evolved (all but gone now) which were free cards that could be used a specific merchants with lower fees for the merchant and was charged with $x and used until empty. Unlike debit or CC they weren't tied to a single person.

Now however there's a couple of apps for phones used to buy things. There's "Swish" which is for bank transfers but unlike bank transfers are instantaneous and you are identified by your telephone number. Not usually used by companies but great for transferring money between friends or splitting bills.

Then you have the SEQR/BART apps which must be tied to a MasterCard or Visa but you use QR codes created by an app in your phone to actually pay (and the QR code is scanned by a device in participating stores). The SEQR app is reversed where you scan a QR code and authorise it with a pin code.

I've even been to stores where I paid the bill with a paypal invoice sent to my e-mail adress. In the long run that wasn't a bright idea (and they changed it) but still. I regularly pay for Spotify using Paypal.

Still, I prefer my CC when buying trips (and receiving the travel insurance tied to it) rather than using any of the disruptive ways I could pay for my trips. Going to the store I usually have my CC with me, and there are no benefits from not using it that I can think of.