yea, problem is those things are too easily hackable. The oyster card's gotten all kinds of bad press for hackability, and that's just for subways. Imagine if this stuff was holding real money?

http://www.google.com/search?q=oyster+card+hack

But, so long as it phoned home to the bank and authenticated itself, I guess that's good enough. Offload the responsibility of dealing with hacks onto the banks and that shit would get secure with a quickness. Unlike all the "identity theft" bullshit that's just a way for a bank to blame end users for their own security problems.

Yeah, I know, the system isn't very secure. Still, the way it works is awesome - it just needs to be secured better.

(and we'll inevitably move towards a future where you can just buy stuff by looking/clicking at it in a store window, almost Minority Report like but hopefully not as scary)

haha... we already live in that world. There are a crazy number of cameras in London watching the public. Just way too damned Orwellian to me. I think it's just a matter of time before the cameras are in your televisions, looking back. Couple that with RFIDs you carry and RFID scanners at every business and every street corner.... *shiver*