I am not an old bird but it seem like there was a time when a credit card was something important. Over time the security around a credit card has become more passé. The merchant no longer checks the signature panel, a signature is no longer required for a purchase under a specified dollar amount, you all but receive an activated card in the mail during a marketing promotion. It was much more difficult for you to "lend" your financial identity to someone or have it taken by someone in the past. Now credit cards are known to have these weaknesses and people don't trust them as much. It’s not an item I would pin my identity to anymore.

So the question I see is what will happen when we evolve and biometric data becomes treated in the same manner. What would happen if I no longer trusted my own fingerprints or retinal scan. Would I have an identity anymore? What if one identity was spread across 100 criminals could you ever catch them?