Bitcoin unfortunately It is not the best means of exchange. I still find it easier to pay something using a credit card. You just swipe your credit/debit card into a machine and type a few digits (password). Bitcoin should be easier than that to be more widespread. Not everybody is tech-savvy.
What about creating a hardware wallet as small (preferably smaller than) a credit card without the need for a smartphone or computer? How difficult could it be?
To receive money you just need a QR code (could be printed on a card like versocards.com).
Unfortunately for PAYING is not the same. You can't go around putting your wallet private keys on other people's QR code scanners.
Is there any solution I'm not aware of?
If a bitcoin private key was encoded on to a smart card chip on a credit card style plastic card, what would happen if you lost the card? I guess that would mean anyone could go around signing transactions with your private key. People lose their (physical)wallets or have them stolen often enough that this would be a real concern.
I guess one solution would be to load only very small amounts you could afford to lose on the wallet that has the private key attached to the smart card. The pin system is interesting too, would you simply be able to set your own pin on the smart card after loading it with money? Is that possible. I'm guessing the way it works now is that your pin is verified by your credit card company. That obviously wouldn't work for bitcoin unless you were using a centralised service like circle or something similar.
If the pin could be stored locally I could see it working. It will be pretty exciting to see the ideas that come out over the next few years. Bit coin is driving technological advancement at an amazing rate.