Five things abroad that took my breath away
I like technology as much as the next person. My favorite app is bKash, the mobile financial services app from Bangladesh because I can send and receive money with a few taps. It is essential for living now, but my fascination with bKash since its inception is intact. Imagine my surprise when I visited a Target store in the United States for the first time and discovered contactless payments.
Here are the top 5 things abroad that bewildered and enchanted me.
OneTap payments
Tap to pay with your phone is still an underrated invention. You do not have to carry cash or a card, just your phone. Your phone is your wallet, except one tap pay requires even lower muscle movement. It is seamless to the point where it takes barely 3 seconds to complete the transaction. We read about these discoveries in developing countries, but experiencing them for the first time wasa memorable experience for me.
Locate products through an app
I first encountered this on the Walmart app. If you select a store in your Walmart app and then search for a product, you can pinpoint the exact location of the product in your selected store. The app will tell you which aisle the product is in. At first, it might not seem like an extraordinary feature, but when shopping in an area as big as multiple football fields, it comes in very handy. It also saves time, and time is invaluable.
Route planning
The accuracy with which buses and subway times are tracked in some cities is baffling (to me because I am from a developing country). But the feature I like most is trip planning. Input your start and end destination; the app will tell you how to get there, including how many buses to change, where to change, how many minutes you must walk, etc.
Apartment finder
What do you mean we do not have to spend days walking around neighborhoods looking for ‘to-let’ signs to find our next apartment? Yeah, that’s right. The last time I moved, I almost did not bother to visit my to-be apartment cause all the information and numerous photos were available online. You not only look for property but can filter results based on a gazillion criteria.
Splitwise
How often have you gone out with friends and spent days reconciling finances with your group? Good luck if you are the one everyone is supposed to pay back and have a big group of friends. Some will need to be reminded how much is owed, others will ask for the receipt, and few will have no recollection of their debt. However, if you and your friends have Splitwise, you can record the payment detailing how much each person owes. The app even allows you to send repayment reminders to friends via text or WhatsApp.
Anyway, these are some of the highlights of my travels abroad. It does not include the mighty Niagra Falls I had visited and experienced up close, but it includes the seemingly essential route planning feature.