You would have a backup of the private key, so if the physical card gets lost or stolen, you just transfer the funds somewhere else before someone does something with them.
I'd rather it be set up as a bank type deal. If you had a back-up private key, that's just one more key you'll have to worry about. If there was like a database that stored your info like a bank, so if you lost your card you could call-in/lock your card so it couldn't be used. Basically the same thing as money but with bitcoin. Could happen, if people actually realized Bitcoins potential.
omfg... this is what makes me think maybe humanity doesn't deserve bitcoin. Maybe it's we need to generate an elite arms manufacture class , end up with the majority so poor the only option is the army to sort our lives out for us and keep us fighting against each other forever more. Too dumb for school!
The point of Bitcoin is to have cash in your control. Having keys stored somewhere not fully in your control... yes that is a bank. And that's the whole thing we're trying to address! Why not just sign up with a mywallet clone? Blockchain.info went to great pains to have the wallet local in the browser to avoid this.
There is multisig now. That means we can do things with a third party. A good way to have some extra security but don't take it lightly. Can that be used such that funds at an address be moved to a predefined address only? I would prefer to keep a portable card limited to spending funds and have the ability to top it up by SMS or some-such.
It's better to be organized. But it is true that one of the most important things in security is convenience - we can improve here. Would someone like to give an insight into PGP server public key revocation and expirations and whether that's a good or bad idea.
The thing is, Bitcoin is cash so you have to treat it as such. Many people in the first world are used to having a company handle their finances... and get the big shock when those companies go bad once every 10-80 years. For some it will take some time to start handling finances themselves once again. I think anyone who doesn't is going to be wiped out pretty quick anyway. I find people who are poor are blocked out of financials anyway and having pennies focuses the mind.