To get a glimpse of the future of commerce in America, look no further than Sweden.
The Scandinavian country is largely a cashless society, with consumers relying on mobile phone payments or plastic. While the U.S. is still far from achieving the same level of cash-free existence, increasing numbers of restaurants and retailers are now snubbing the lowly dollar bill.
Some merchants such as SweetGreen, a salad chain, refuse to open their registers for cash, telling customers they can pay only with mobile payments or cards. With some newer vending machines, only a card or mobile wallet will get that cold Coca-Cola to roll down the chute.
The stance may appear un-American — after all, currency is considered legal tender for all debts or dues — but the Treasury permits private businesses to set their own policies, which means going cashless is fine with Uncle Sam.
“What we’ve seen is a push toward electric payments because of convenience, especially for Generations X and Y and onward,” said Greg Burch, vice president of strategic initiatives as Ingenico Group, which makes payment systems for merchants. “The phone […]
I know from working in banking that a lot of credit fraud is committed by using mobile apps.
I suspect the banks are rubbing their hands in glee for the extra fees they’ll rake in. And what happens should GPS go down? Something which the US military says will happen..not permanently but they’re betting that with Climate Change that will be a regular intermittent challenge.