My Poor Wallet

I have a Samsonite wallet that I bought at Heathrow a few years ago. Upon opening it today, however, I noticed that it was torn and will need replaced - which sounds like a good Christmas present if ever there was one.

The problem, as I see it, is that the wallet is stuffed full of cards and has been under considerable straing for far too long:

• 4 credit cards
• 2 debit cards
• 3 hotel loyalty cards
• 2 air operator loyalty cards
• 6 store loyalty cards

Note: For some reason I have Sterling, Dollars and Euros in there as well just now.

Almost all of these cards have a chip on them - I'm guessing a lot of them are only single-function chips, unfortunately. I say unfortunately because if I could in someway amalgamate the functions of these cards, then I wouldn't be in the position of having to replace my wallet!

Why can't we live in a world whereby I have a single card which has a chip capable of:

• identifying myself for cash withdrawal
• recording my spending habits (and thus accumulate cashback points from my various "suppliers")
• identifying myself when gaining access to airport lounges

The reason why I can't have this? The world of Federated Security is too immature and no one company seems to want to take the leap of faith required to change our lives.

An identity provider/service provider model would certainly ease the strain on my poor wallet. In the meantime, I will have to continue carrying the lorryload of cards I need to go about my daily business.