The transition to a cashless economy, while offering unparalleled convenience and security, has initiated a quiet revolution in surveillance: the profiling of individuals through their credit and debit card transactions. This pervasive tracking, often justified by fraud detection, represents a profound shift in the relationship between citizens, financial institutions, and the state, challenging the very concepts of privacy, autonomy, and the presumption of innocence.
The profiling of transaction data is not merely recording purchases; it is the systematic mapping of a person’s life. Every transaction, a bookstore visit, a medical appointment, a donation to a political cause, a late night pharmacy run, constructs a detailed, intimate portrait of habits, beliefs, and vulnerabilities. As data-driven surveillance becomes the norm, the expectation of private, anonymous consumption vanishes. This total visibility erodes the "right to be let alone," treating citizens as subjects to be analyzed rather than individuals to be respected.
The data collected during transactions is often used for purposes far beyond mere fraud detection, including target marketing and predictive analytics. This commodifies the private lives of individuals, treating their daily activities as a resource for corporate exploitation. Citizens become products, and their behaviour is sold to the highest bidder to manipulate future consumption patterns.
In another thread, personal safety is discussed when charging the low battery on the phone, using a public source. I am far more concerned about profiling, and the safety issues that it raises.
