I recognized the sound immediately, Rip, Rip, Rip. It was the sound of a NSF bank notice being torn open. I was spending a reflective Sunday morning at Panera Bread when the familiar sound jolted me back to the present. The first time you get one, tearing all three sides off so you can see the message is simply annoying. The next time it's rises to the level of punishment. The third time is just painful.
He was sitting at a table nearby, drinking coffee, opening his mail. His lack of expression revealed so much. Apparently this was not his first batch of bank notices. He appeared to be oblivious to not only the impact, but that there was an easy solution to his challenge. I thought, "There's technology to fix that." Then I remembered that it takes more than technology to make your everyday technology work.
Technology allowed banks to create debit cards to replace checkbooks and ATMs to replace bank tellers. They leveraged technology to make billions manipulating the posting of transactions to drive your balance below zero turning your overdrafts into their profits. The profiteering slowed with new federal legislation. Technology and the Internet gave us online accounts, balance alerts and overdraft protection. Many solutions exist, but as I watched him bundle up his mail and head for the door, I knew the man in front of me was never going to make his technology work.