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Cell phone swipe trials which began in Japan in 2003 allowing consumers to purchase any number of goods by simply swiping their phone instead of a credit card is now becoming a reality.
Swiping The Cell Phone!
Cell phone swipe technology is something we got used to seeing in sci fi shows such as Star Trek where the tri-corder machine, resembling a phone, performed just about any function imaginable. Now it seems cell phones embedded with smart cards and placed near a touch pad reader, will be able to perform the function of a credit card and if it takes off, the plastic fantastic could become a thing of the past!
Think of just about anything you use a credit card for; it’s expected in the very near future checking out at a grocery or convenience store will be as simple as swiping your phone.
Better still, the technology contained in a smart chip will also have the ability to collect an electronic receipt or to take it one step further, the ability to scan grocery items and do a running tally as you shop. No more counting item prices in your head as you try and stay within the allotted budget. You’ll know exactly how much you’ll be paying when you check out! In fact,tax time will be as breeze as you store your receipts electronically and call them up w
hen you need it!
How Will Industry Embrace The Idea?
Obviously for technology like this to be effective there will need to be firstly, co-operation from business, and then an expected overhaul phase where the technology is implemented. Not to mention cell phone companies applying it to their phones. Two questions immediately come to mind: How long will it take to become a standard way of doing transactions and will cell phones become more expensive? In fact, how much extra will phone plans become for consumers?
Already in the UK, plans are underway to introduce a scheme where train tickets could be bought via the mobile phone. Commuters will be able to purchase their ticket online and have a barcode sent to their handset. Then it’s just a matter of having it scanned at the gates eliminating the need for tickets.
The Cell Phone Or The Tri-Corder
It was always inevitable given the rate of technological advancement the human race would have the ability to rely on one small piece of equipment and use it to perform a variety of functions. Cell phone swipe technology follows on from being able to download music, watch television, go online ,play games... and of course, communicate with other people. We still do communicate with others via a cell phone don’t we?
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