It's incredibly stupid to not bring your physical cards with you while shopping.

Like many people, I've worked many jobs in my day. A number of them being retail, there was one thing I saw constantly, and still see happen to people while I'm shopping, that absolutely baffles me. You primarily see it in younger folks, but there are countless people who don't bring their physical debit or credit cards with them, and a shocking amount who don't even carry their LICENSE with them when they drive because they "took a picture of it". I worked at a gym for a bit when I was younger and it was a several times per day occurrence where people would try to sign-up, show me a picture of their license, and I'd have to explain how I can't accept it for their sign-up. Then they'd get back in their cars and leave. These people genuinely have no idea how much trouble they'll get in if they get pulled over.

People are so spoiled by tap that they'll often completely forget their pins and don't even consider their options if they aren't able to tap. Tap limits exist, and they're not terribly high for what people spend at grocery stores. On top of that, many cards will outright lock you out for making subsequent taps like that. I would see people's taps get declined all the time and would tell them they need to insert their physical card, only to see the dumbfounded expression on their faces as they tell me they "don't carry it because it's on their phone". Like, MY BROTHER IN CHRIST, technology is not perfect. There are countless times in the retail world where tap just isn't working on terminals. There are still a number of shops and restaurants that don't even have terminals capable of tap. What are you gonna do? Explain to the restaurant that you can't pay because you neglected to bring your payment card with you?

On top of all that, what happens if your phone dies? Most people don't carry portable power banks with them, nor do they even have a charger outside of their car. Explain to the restaurant that you can't pay them because your phone died? You know what doesn't have a battery? YOUR CARD. There's this magical thing called a WALLET that's for storing them. If you're a guy, you have this magical thing called POCKETS to store them in. If you're a woman, there's this atomical invention called a purse that's meant to carry wallets.

Carrying your cards with you won't kill you.