Having not taken a bus journey for a few years gave me a shock when I learnt I couldn’t pay my fare with cash. They say cash makes the world go round, but in this case it couldn’t even get me home from a night out! Luckily, with the transport system improving services, they had introduced alternative ways of making payments towards a journey, in this case it’s the contactless payment. Back to my story; having fiddled in my wallet I found a bank card with the contactless feature, after tapping my card against the contactless reader a green light appeared and allowed me to continue my journey. Hooray, I thought to myself, as I could peacefully fall asleep on the bus until the last stop (my stop)!
This got me wondering how much we really depend on cards. It seems cash usage is a thing of the past, three in every four transactions in shops were done by cards in 2014. Twenty years ago you had to have an alarm clock, calculator, calendar, camera, computer, address book, road map, gaming console and a torch. These days you get all of that on your Smartphone. That’s why I am all for minimising on unnecessary objects, especially if we have a tool that can replace multiple gadgets and have an all in one option.
This next method might seem a bit bizarre but strangely enough it has really picked up in Sweden, where people are getting tiny microchips embedded under the skin! Could this be the future and replace cards or cash? Perhaps, but this process seems intriguing as it eliminates the use of fobs to gain access through office doors and even operating the photocopier. Beverage fans get ready! As trials are being done to enable users to pay for coffee in the cafeteria with the wave of their hand. Whilst waving madly around in the kitchen may make us seem friendlier to our colleagues, this gives us as much control like a kid a in a sweet shop…and I suppose gives the conspiracy believers out there something to talk about!
Have you ever had a surprise when you look at your credit card statement and notice random shops listed with a large total on the bottom of the page? Well this happens on a monthly basis for me and sometimes I get the feeling an evil twin is out there enjoying all these products I apparently purchased. It doesn’t really help that the contactless limit will increase from £20 to £30 in November, as I will be burning a larger hole in my pocket!
Cash management is key for both business and your personal life. I look forward to my microchip!
