From Chip and Pin to Wave and Pay - The Cashless society of the future

If some predictions are to be believed, notes and coins could be a thing of the past by no later than 2012, as debit and reputation cards come to be more and more ubiquitous in 21st century buyer culture. But even if such predictions are a diminutive premature, there can be diminutive doubt that plastic 'chip and pin' payments are becoming the norm throughout much of society.

And, because people are becoming more accustomed to paying for items directly from their card, a confident culture has advanced that involves using a debit card to pay for everything, including small purchases that may cost no more than a few pounds. However, this can be a very time enchanting way of paying for an item and can lead to a build up of queues in locations where fast transactions are important, such as fast-food restaurants, pubs, car parks and newsagents.

London 2012

Indeed, this is why contactless cost systems are becoming more and more beloved in some countries, whereby reputation cards, key fobs, smartcards or any other expedient that uses Radio-Frequency Identification (Rfid) are used to make a purchase.

This recipe of cost requires the user to naturally wave the card over a reader at the point of sale, with no need to enter a Pin, or sign any receipts. As a result, this speeds the entire retail process up considerably and admittedly seems as though it is one step closer towards creating a cashless society, however, 'wave-and-pay' systems are still in their infancy. The first contactless reputation card was only launched in the Uk in late 2007; so it's maybe a diminutive too early to tell how victorious such cost systems will be in the long-run.

And, in terms of manufacture people's lives a lot easier, contactless purchase reputation cards admittedly tick all the boxes. Not only do they speed up small-purchase transactions, but some can also be used on communal transport systems such as London Underground. Furthermore, they still have all the normal features of a quarterly reputation card, including fraud and purchase delivery protection, online catalogue supervision and an identity safety service.

Of course, some people may hold fears that such cost systems are at risk of being used fraudulently, given that Pins or signatures are not required. However, also the usual anti-fraud mechanisms that are in place for all reputation cards, one in ten of all 'wave-and-pay' transactions will in fact want a Pin to be entered, ensuring that if the card does fall into the wrong hands, then any fraudulent use is kept to a minimum.

So, it would seem that the new 'wave-and-pay' principles can bring benefits to the Uk consumer. And, whilst you may not be living in a cashless society at the present moment, it admittedly seems likely at some point in the future, with chip-and-pin now commonplace; and contactless purchase reputation cards are finding set to follow suit.

From Chip and Pin to Wave and Pay - The Cashless society of the future