Originally Posted by
PaxSicagia
None of these apply to me personally, but here are some potential reasons:
- They don't have a different card they can use.
- They don't have a phone with working NFC.
- They don't want to enable NFC for security reasons.
- They're having trouble with the app. (Ventra app is buggy.)
- They don't trust the security of the app.
- They want to buy the card anonymously using cash.
- They're not very technical and feel buying a card is simpler.
- They collect these type of cards.
- They want a backup plan, in case their phone dies.
- Before departing, they plan to give the card away.
Sure, some people don't have NFC cards or phones that support NFC and some people may feel it is a security risk.
But, you do not require the app to use NFC payment. You do not even need a phone if you have a NFC credit card. I'd say the card is basically the backup for the phone failing. Though dropping a ventra card means you lose whatever value is on it, dropping a credit card has no liability but certainly some headache and I suppose there may be an increase chance of someone stealing the number depending on how you hold the card. I'd say using a NFC credit card is the same level of difficult as using a ventra card except you already have credit card and never need to reload it. I do like collecting these types of cards so I do understand wanting to get one in some cases.