Why Technology Is Not For The Poor

Technology is not for everyone. Not for the poor. Not for the elderly. And definitely not for the technologically illiterate, including the luddites and technophobes. I have assisted seniors who struggle with the use of ATM and mobile phones and apps. Lucky me, I didn't have that struggle. I was an IT person. I used to create business application programs and provide desk support to troubleshoot Macintosh computers. One of my bosses, the big man Mr Zobel, even used to call me the Macintosh man.

Then, one day, I got so frustrated I could not withdraw my money because of this darned technology. "Technology sucks!" I must have said. 

The BPI ATMs That Sucked My Patience

As an economically challenged senior citizen, I seldom go to an ATM to withdraw some cash because there's nothing much to withdraw. Most of the time, I shop online because it is convenient. But this day, I had to walk to the nearest ATM because my sister from the US sent some cash gifts to distribute for Christmas.

A normal day as always. What could be a big deal withdrawing small potatoes.

I went to the nearest ATM to withdraw some money but the transaction was cancelled. No reason slip was spitted out by the machine. I thought, perhaps, the BPI systems were down; so, I tried again the next day.

I headed back to the same bank to make my withdrawals. The man before me was able to withdraw some cash, so I thought the system was already okay. When my turn came, I noticed that the system was taking time to process my request—some kind of a process loop. After some frustrating seconds, the ATM spitted out my card—the transaction was cancelled. What could be wrong? Perhaps, the old ATM machine needed an upgrade.

During the COVID pandemic, the second BPI branch nearest my place was shut down. So, I had to walk almost a kilometre to go to the nearest BPI branch. What a relief! I was able to withdraw some money. The system was already up, I supposed.

The Persistent Transaction Cancelled

Two days after, I wanted to withdraw a few bills because I wanted my sisters to feel the cash gift, something you would not feel if made through online transfers.  I went to the same bank nearest me, but to my frustration, there again my transaction was cancelled. Maybe, there was something wrong with that branch's dilapidated machine. I decided to go to the nearest bank instead the next day.

The next bank nearest wasn't actually near. It's a 13-minute kilometre walk. A walking exercise would be good so, I went there. But I was annoyed to see this message again—transaction cancelled. What's going on? Was BPI blocking my transactions?

If memory served me right, there was another BPI branch along that road. True enough, I found it. There were two ATMs on that branch. The man next to me was able to withdraw cash with no sweat so I thought I would have no problem. Transaction cancelled! What the...? I tried the next ATM. Same response: Transaction cancelled! This time, this bank's ATMs were already pissing me off. 

What if I try a non-BPI bank? I did that early morning after Mass the next day. Sad to say, I was not able to make any withdrawals. The ATM said that my card was not readable. At least, the BDO ATM had the guts to tell the reason. To confirm the reason, I went to the near BPI branch and made a balance inquiry. A misfortune slip was printed out—invalid transaction -012.

The Synchronicity of Technological Frustration

I told my sister that I would just transfer cash to her online. When I opened my BPI app, it said: time for an app-date. But the BPI app installed on my phone was up to date! Was it referring to the iOS of my phone? Apparently, my iOS said that I needed to update to iOS 15. When done, iPhone said: your iOS is up to date. Good! Then I went back to the BPI app—same message still: time for an app-date. I went to the app store and looked for that BPI app. It said that it required iOS 16. My iPhone's current iOS was 15. There's no other way to update it to iOS 16 because my iPhone said that its iOS was already up to date. Beats me!

The iPhone would not update to iOS 16 because my vintage iPhone was iPhone 6S. Could that be the reason? Now what? How can I make online transactions with BPI? Did it mean that I had to buy a new phone? My goodness, how could I do that! With monthly pension of only 4000 pesos, how could I afford a new phone? I couldn't even withdraw my own money.

My mind started to search as if buffering, thinking of other solutions to resolve my predicament... Enthusiastically, I remembered that there's another way—I could transact online via the BPI online website. 

Ohh! There's hope. Or was there? I went to the BPI online site, logged in, entered my password and then—surprise! You BPI technology must be nuts. To log in to the site, first, I had to log in to my BPI app. What?

Truly, I was losing my patience. I was doomed at the end of my rope! Or, should I say—doomy fricking technological loop!

Back To Old Ways

I was left with no other choice. To get my money, I must go through the old traditional way, which was to go to the nearest BPI branch, get a number from BEA, stand on a queue and wait for hours until the teller calls my name. I don't understand why despite the existence of BEA Online (a QMS), people still had to wait for hours for their turns to be served. No wonder why, as early as 8:00 AM, people are already queueing outside the branch while the bank was still closed.

I hope that this experience would be my worst synchronicity ever. I wouldn't want anything worse than this.

On the positive side...

On the positive side, if my card was stolen, that thief would have a hard time stealing my money from my bank account for the reason that, if I, the owner was not able to withdraw my own money despite the aid of technological devices and apps, how much more difficult for that thief to do the same.

On the sadder side...

If I, a techie geek, had a hard time withdrawing my money around this technological environment, can you imagine how dreadful that process could be for those who are not tech savvy such as the poor and the elderly?

I used to work for a big company in Ayala. I was earning well. Mobile phones were just starting then in the 90s. I didn't have one because mobile phones were big and heavy then. We called the old mobile phones pangkudkod ng yelo (ice grater made of steel commonly used in preparing halo-halo, a Filipino refreshment). I was already satisfied with my Mac computer—those tiny Mac SEs were already supreme over the barriotic Windows.  I was happy I didn't have to live and depend on gadgets such as beepers and huge mobile phones. Back then, we smilingly talked face to face; not heads down. I enjoyed my life with a good salary and with no enslaving gadgets. Where are those happy times now?

Those simple and happy times are now gone. After my retirement, I had no choice but to swallow that from then on, I would only be receiving 4000 pesos as my monthly pension. To make it sadder, here am I, an ex-IT specialist, couldn't even afford to buy a cellphone just so I could install that f*cking BPI app that refused to be installed on iPhone 6. I am at the mercy of my monthly pittance and depriving access to technology.

Truly, technology is not for the poor, not for the elderly and the technologically illiterate, whether a novice, luddite, or technophobe.