And to be clear, using a phone app to purchase time on a IoT connected washing machine is definitely an online transaction.

Useful? Yes.
Do you need to be cautious? Also yes.
But you already have the extra security layer of PayPal.

Enjoy your convenient laundry!

A debit card typically connects directly to your bank account. Mine does.

A debit card may not offer the same protections against fraud as a credit card. Anyone using a debit card for transactions online should read the terms and conditions for your debit card carefully.

Excellent.

You can actually install any credit card into phone wallets, but you don't necessarily get notifications about charges on those cards not made with the phone using the NFC feature (if your phone supports that.)

But Apple Card does, which I find invaluable.

Maybe you have done this already; but this is my rationale.

They have declined charges for some stuff (like security software from Europe, lol!, Malwarebytes, excellent btw,) but I can rapidly respond to authorize the charge.

Their AI also learns, so now the Malwarebytes renewals go through.

Android phones do support a wallet feature.

I particularly like Apple Card, because it installs onto a wallet on my phone. Every charge gets a notice, so it is easy to keep track of what is going on.

I do care, and I want to keep you safe.

If the malicious party kept the charges small, you might not notice for awhile; if they tried to cash out big, the credit card algos would probably stop them at once as being out of character for the payment source. That's a big help. Credit card companies have been using that style of AI for years.

Banks can help too, but you are usually out the money until they resolve the dispute.

If a malicious actor penetrated the payment part of the app, they could authorize payments for services you didn't order.

You generally have better protection against attacks like that from third party payment apps or credit cards, where you can challenge the charges.

On reflection, I would recommend not having your WashConnect payments drawn directly from your bank account. Any kind of third party payment app would help: Paypal, Zelle, or any credit card whatsoever.

Good.

The washing machines could get pwned (i.e, become part of a botnet,) but that's a problem for Renova Flats. Unless it breaks them so bad that your clothes get stuck.

But that would be a very poorly written botnet, since it would make itself obvious.

The whole thing here: deadline.com/2025/11/pope...