In other words, would you like to have your physical card to be lost or stolen and someone paying with it? As small amounts don’t ask for a pin confirmation. Having my phone stolen is pretty much another level of attack.

Yes... that $25 if they manage to get even that before it is blocked I can live with. Loosing my phone, even if they can't do anything with it is a whole other scenario. Now I can't even get home.

Your bank will refund any stolen money if your card is stolen.

> would you like to have your physical card to be lost or stolen and someone paying with it?

I don't really care, as I'm protected from fraud by the card issuer and regulations in my country.

> Having my phone stolen is pretty much another level of attack.

Stealing a wallet or a phone seems just about the same level of difficulty.

And you can trick an iPhone into believing you're a transit terminal and charge arbitrary amounts to real credit cards, without unlocking the phone. (And Apple thinks this is a feature.) The attack requires specialized hardware and physical access, but if you've stolen the phone, that's fine.

(Yes, I know, this article is about Android. But most people where I live have iPhones, even if I don't.)