There are a lot of people who aren't on top of their finances at all.
For them, a delayed transaction wreaks plenty of havoc because they're not keeping track of how much "ghost transactions" are affecting the account balance they see.
Now you could argue it's on them for not being on top of their finances, but Uber makes a lot of money from these people. The largest demographics are 18-24 yr olds, ie people who honestly can't afford overpriced delivery but do it anyways.
It's all a fairly pointless discussion because the simple solution is to suggest Uber, etc. just make this method of charging an optional feature that is easily toggled by their customers. Beyond that, it's an uninteresting discussion, and I don't care to hear people browbeat each other about how Uber is bad and wrong for rolling transactions into one because they didn't consider that their customers are mouthbreathing idiots whose entire financial world will come collapsing down on them if they can't get check their credit card balance for 100% accurate realtime information about their current financial state. Somehow if someone didn't think of this possibility, they are an inconsiderate jerk who "lives" in a "bubble."
- It's not about credit cards, it's mostly debit. It's a large driver of the 15 billion dollars in NSF fees banks pick up yearly.
- Having 100% up to date information on your money makes it easier to not overdraft, the emotional smokescreen deployed doesn't change that.
- I don't know anyone with any level of financial literacy who would prefer less accurate data on their money: so your suggestion for a switch that makes your transaction history less accurate is questionable to say the least.
Overall you sound insecure about living in a bubble. I didn't paint people as jerks for being in a bubble, but I rightfully pointed out that you're clearly unfamiliar with a challenge in some people's lives.
If self-loathing makes you feel like a jerk for being in a bubble I can see how you could misconstrue that.
Perhaps seeing a big bill dropped on them all at once for their past purchases is the exact wake-up call some people need to track their finances.
It’s the same mental power you have, but for a variety of reasons they’re having to apply it to stave off problems instead of to grow their assets as is more typical among software engineers.
But it's still difficult to stay on top of finances when you run dry every month. You need to account for all the different ways a transaction could come in: a check you wrote; a recurring payment that you send out, a recurring payment via ACH, debit, whatever; your own card purchases while out and about.
So it easily becomes overwhelming and then you're in NSF territory.
I used to donate $3 at a time via check to some religious sisters. They were very appreciative and sent me nice tokens and letters, but they waited long intervals to deposit those checks, so there were unfortunate times when the checks bounced, and they rightly objected, because their fees already outstripped the amounts I was donating to them. I just felt kind of helpless at that, and sad that a good relationship was soured over $3.
I think it is unprecedented in history, and absurd, that a company can just reach in and scoop out as much funds as they want on a regular basis. I mean, many things I set up AutoPay have a variable billing amount. They can just increase the bill and they're still hunkydory to remove that amount in the coming months! Please keep consumers in the loop and in control here, folks.
Bill Pay from the bank is, unfortunately, sometimes perilous and difficult to manage, and you may wish for AutoPay after you've had a few mishaps. I recently received a PAST DUE LATE FEES APPLY notice because of a penny. If Bill Pay can't generate an electronic transfer, then it cuts a paper check to mail out (at no charge, which is great) but with all the pitfalls of floating checks (for a poor person who lives close to $0 balance, you don't want a lot of float!)
