Smart payment technology – where lies the future?

With a store devoid of billing counters, and bitcoins becoming the currency in the limelight, is smart payment technology on the rise or are we close to a monetary apocalypse?

• Only 1% of payments in Sweden are made using notes or coins. Meet the nearly cashless country.

We’ve come a long way from the time when people bartered their possessions in exchange for something they wanted to buy. In fact, coins are slowly turning out to be more popular in the digital world than they are as a physical entity. No less than a decade ago, we were introduced to digital payments. Going cashless sounded easy and much less of a hassle, compared with carrying those bulky wallets around. Naturally, this method spread like wildfire across the globe and today it has become tough to imagine a life without your credit/debit cards. As a matter of fact, we’ve come so far that there are now stores without a billing counter. Cryptocurrencies have become the new buzzword for investment and cardholders are the most popular EDCs, compared with traditional leather wallets. In all this hullabaloo,  should we ask ourselves whether smart payment technology is actually making our life easier or even more difficult?

A report from American Psychological Association said a few years back:

There is a tight coupling of the consumption and the payment, thereby accentuating the pain of paying. In the case of credit card purchases, actual parting of the money occurs after the purchase decision, thereby dulling the pain of paying.

Going cashless is easy or no?

If you think logically, that’s true. The more you tend to go cashless, the easier it becomes for you to spend more. There’s something in the way we used to handle cash that made us realize how much money we were spending for a specific purpose. Now that we have our credit cards to rely on, we hardly think about how much we’re paying now and it’s always about “I’ll deal with it later”. That being more of a psychological perspective, you can’t deny the benefits of digital payments at the same time.

Not to forget the ability to shop from anywhere on earth. The boom in e-commerce wouldn’t have been possible if there had been no smart payments. As a matter of fact, smart payments have also enhanced the way we shop at physical storefronts. Take Samsung Pay or Apple Pay for example. With one click of a button, you get to pay your bills effortlessly.

Did You Know: Cashless donations are about to get way better with DipJar.

Smart payment trends

1. Context-based: This form of payment requires no direct interaction between the customer and the merchant. An example would be Uber where you can pay from the app instead of paying the driver.
2. Loyalty reward-based apps: With companies like Starbucks, smart payments are taking a step forward with loyalty reward-based apps. These apps will not just make payment easier but also help you earn points you can redeem for your next purchase.
3. Biometric authentication: Using facial recognition and fingerprints has become the new trend in smart payment technology. Best example would be Apple Pay, where you register your card and pay with your fingerprint every time.
4. Wearable Tech: From your Apple Watch to Samsung Gear G3, paying from your wrist has become the latest trend in digital payments. It’s easy, effortless, and definitely much better than carrying a wallet.

https://youtu.be/ez-2M3C_4wU

But just as all these trends make your life easier, they can also tend to make you careless when it comes to paying on the go. Make sure to go through the major tips on protecting your smart payments once more.

Smart payment gadgets

Consumers:

Kerv Contactless Payment Ring

Great for athletes, festival-goers, or anyone who worries about where to hold their wallet, Kerv is convenient, compact, and always with you. Using the same technology behind contactless cards, Kerv can be used anywhere there’s a contactless symbol or NFC electronics.

Ledger Nano S Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet

The robust design is simply perfect for storing your Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Altcoins in one place. Additionally, the OLED display adds an extra security layer to your transactions. You can double check all your transactions simply by tapping on the side of the display.

Merchants:

Square Contactless Chip Reader

Packed with a powerful battery, the reader connects wirelessly to iOS or Android devices. Square’s free point-of-sale app takes care of payments, tipping, inventory, reports, and more. They will even send you a free magstripe reader—so you can swipe cards the old-fashioned way, too.

Square Contactless Chip Reader

Paypal Here – Mobile Card Reader

EMV is a global payment system that entails putting a microprocessor chip into debit and credit cards, making them less vulnerable to fraud for in-person transactions. Because EMV uses better data security, this standard is being adopted in the United States. This means that contactless payments via the PayPal Card Reader make it easier for your business to accept secure payments anywhere.

Paypal Here – Mobile Card Reader

With the world now going cashless in a way we could never have imagined, do you think scams are going to increase or will technology be able to nip them in the bud for once?