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Australians misplace 7 million credit cards annually. These 3 tech solutions can cut that number

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Nearly 11.5 million credit cards are reported lost or stolen annually in Australia. Just imagine how tall a card castle you can build with those!

Research released by CommBank in October last year revealed that misplaced credit cards account for 61 per cent of all credit cards reported lost or stolen in Australia, resulting in seven million cancelled credit cards that are recoverable or later turn up.

The research found that more than a quarter (26 per cent) admitted they have been unsure whether their credit card is lost, stolen or misplaced.

Furthermore, the majority (84 per cent) of credit card holders say cancelling and replacing lost, stolen or misplaced credit cards can be a frustrating process. No surprises there…

Misplaced credit cards also result in Australians wasting a whopping 4.6 million hours a year updating the details of cancelled credit cards, such as direct debits and other regular payments.

The research found that the most common places in which we misplace our credit cards are at home or work (61 per cent), in shops or malls (49 per cent) and in bars or restaurants (37 per cent).

Other common places Australians have misplaced their credit cards include: when travelling for business or on holiday (32 per cent); on a night out (26 per cent); on public transport (26 per cent); or at a party (21 per cent).

Tech to the rescue!

Fortunately, there are now several tech solutions out there that allow us to leave our credit cards at home, or safely tucked away in our wallets, reducing the chance of misplacing them.

Clipp is an app that allows customers to start, manage and pay their bar or pub tab using their smartphone, instead of paying with a credit card each time they order or leaving it behind the bar.

“Consumers need to be incredibly wary of their credit card leaving their possession. Combine this with a driver’s license and that is two very critical pieces of information that can quite easily lead to identify fraud,” Greg Taylor, the co-founder of Clipp remarked.

“As a rule, I never let me credit card out of my direct sight.”

He explained that Clipp helps solve this problem by enabling customers to safely and securely enter their credit card details into the Clipp app using PayPal’s secure technology.

On what he predicts for the future of credit cards, Greg told Anthill, “Apps and mobile payments are going to significantly change the way consumers interact with point-of-sale devices.”

“Clipp and for example Apple are simply enablers of simplicity. Creating a seamless user experience sits at the core of what we aim for in our product.”

After a few pints at the bar or dinner at the restaurant, you gotta get home, right? You need not misplace your credit card on the way.

goCatch is an app that lets customers book and pay for a registered taxi. Receipts are sent straight to the email address of the passenger, so there’s no need to take a wallet or credit card out.

“With goCatch you can securely register your credit card as a payment method, or link to your PayPal account, on signup, so there’s no need to carry your credit card on you in the future once registered, and allowing you to get home safely each time,” Ned Moorfield, CEO and co-founder of goCatch explained.

“With 300,000 registered users, and 31,000 credit cards securely stored with Australia’s largest and most trusted payments gateway, eWay, goCatch has seamless mobile payments sorted.”

“We see consumers increasingly turning to mobile payments as a highly convenient payments method, saving people time whether it be to pay for your taxi, morning coffee, or your Friday post work beer,” Ned gave Anthill his prediction for the future of credit cards.

And lastly, the government too has a solution for misplaced credit cards in form of Opal.

The Opal card allows you to pay for travel on all public transport (buses, trains, ferries and light rail) in Sydney, Newcastle; and the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Hunter and Illawara, so you can leave your credit card either at home or safe in your wallet.