> we don’t want to have to force smartphone choices but the number of users without one these devices is so vanishingly small

You are missing the point. The issue is that once the "vanishingly small" number of alternatives disappears, users will be completely trapped, and Google and Apple will then free to abuse that position of power (they already do). Worse, since power is centralized, it is very easy for government interference to take place, and we already see that with things such as identity and age verification requirements. It is the possibility of competition that matters more than actual competition.

▲

cyberpunk 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Aren’t your problems solved by carrying a bit of plastic issues by your bank? Why isn’t that enough?

▲

drnick1 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This "digital wallet" is precisely touted as an alternative to carrying plastic.

▲

lyu07282 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

We really should try to understand your mentality, if only to understand why after 27 years the EU still doesn't have a PayPal alternative.

	▲	joris 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Because we don’t need it. The US banking system for example is fairly archaic. Where I live, paper checks went extinct about 30 years ago. Now with SEPA, bank transfers are cheap (cents), fast (seconds) and easy (IBAN). If our banking system would not be as convenient, I’m pretty sure something like PayPal would have been very popular.