Use of ‘Plastic’ on the Rise

It seems that an increasing number of Kenyans are choosing to go to entertainment venues without hard cash, but instead opting to use either their debit or credit cards. It’s not unusual these days to see a select number of revelers in the club accruing intimidatingly large tabs and then dishing out ‘plastic money’.

The question remains: Is using a card meant to…
Help you control or easily monitor your expenditure?
Act merely as a status symbol?
Facilitate seemingly easier online (and offline) purchases?

Whatever the reasons, Kenyans are embracing the new consumer oriented age wholeheartedly as the number of cards in circulation rose to 9.6million in March this year, according to statistics released to the Central Bank of Kenya, and as reported in the Daily Nation.
Globally there are immense security fears that come attached to both owning and/or using a credit or debit card, and more particularly with regards to fraud. A majority of people fear giving out their details as they make purchases at places such as shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants or online, but the banks that offer the option of owning one are moving to seal all loopholes, including shifting to new technologies such as installing chips in their cards, to curb any potential threats.
At the end of the day, it happens to be more convenient to go ‘paperless’ and plastic, though there are other viable options such as mobile money transfers that make life easier for consumers. Whatever your choice, make sure it suits your lifestyle and you are aware of safety measures or advantages.