Cash or data
The way people
paid for the goods or services throughout the ages changed over the centuries.
Starting from barter through primitive coins and bills up to standardized and
widespread coins and banknotes these days . Credit cards and payment cards are
now standard, and each of us probably has one of them.
However, the development
of technology did not stop with at the usual payment cards. Currently
credit cards are equipped with NFC module which enables contactless payments.
In a similar module are equipped some of our mobile phones which allows
us to pay through the cells.
Another new
kinds of payment are Cryptocurrency. The most common and popular nowadays is
Bitcoin, however, there are hundreds of other Cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency
is a medium of exchange using cryptography to control the creation of new units
in system and secure all of transactions.
Bitcoin is based
on p2p network. A transaction in this system is anonymous; therefore, it is
used to pay in illegal transactions. For example, buyers and sellers of the Silk
Road (an online black market) conducted all transactions with bitcoins.
The last form of
payment that I want to mention is a Polish product called Billon. Billon is p2p
payment system based on digital cash solution. Exchange rate of digital cash to
national currency is fixed at 1:1 ratio (in case of Billon to Polish złoty). Noteworthy
projects are also made by PKO IKO or IKASA for chain stores.
With the
development of technology, we can expect more and more new types of payment
systems. But will people want to use them? Are the current payment systems secure?
Maybe you know some other innovative payment systems?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI only heard about bitcoins but I never was in this topic to know how this functions. I heard that you can buy things in some shops using this virtual money. I heard that funny counter part to bitcoin is dogecoin :D The funny fact is that dogecoin has really big demand because of its icon which is popular mem doge dog. Wow wow soo much money :D
ReplyDeletehttp://dogecoin.com/
I don't interesting in payment systems and Cryptocurrency is replacement of traditional currency for me. We can buy or sell something and pay bitcoins, that's all. Many of new paycards have NFC chip, and it's great convenience when we want to buy a water.
ReplyDeleteWhat's interesting, USA isn't a leader in testing new technology in banking. Much payments are made by checks, which in Europe are almost forgotten.
I really appreciate debit cards with NFC module - they save a lot of time, normally spent on turning your wallet inside out in search for the coins. I don't use cryptocurrencies - I've never had a need to do so.
ReplyDeleteAnother payment methods I like are online services like PayPal, PayU or DotPay - they also save a lot of time; instead of filling the form for money transfer everytime, you just click "pay" and confirm you payment with a phone. Really convenient method for online shops and auction services, like Allegro or Ebay.
As far it seems to me that still only younger generation in bigger cities are acknowledged with such modern payment methods. For instance to pay with NFC you need modern mobile phone, and what is funny even only last model of iPhone finally has such option.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of bitcoins the law status is very controversial. In great majority of countries it is allowed, but there are countries where using BTC is absolutely forbidden. In Poland Finance Ministry decided that bitcoins are not interfering with the legislation, however they will never officially gave the status of currency or any other financial instrument.
All in all after situations like Amber Gold affair people will not so quickly believe in allocating money in any other form then ready cash.
As people appreciate every, even the smallest, save of time, it's almost certain for me that the new technologies of payment, which are mentioned above, will become commonly accepted: sooner or later. Although I've never used such thing as Cryptocurrency, I consider credit cards provided with NFC module very useful. Not only does it take less time to use it, but also it releases us from the duty of remembering the PIN code which is no longer necessary in this new technology. Like everything, it also has the drawbacks, such as simplified access to the account in the case of theft. However I'm fully after bringing such innovations into general use.
ReplyDeleteWith cash and credit card it's quite simple - it's convenient, easy and pleasant :) NFC is in my opinion some kind of extension of this system to be more efficient :) Because we always have our smartphone with us, why do we need anything else to carry? :)
ReplyDeleteI have heard about bitcoins earlier and I still cannot understand how a completely virtual currency became "real".
Really, that is phenomenon to me that something so abstract has been created, and it succeed and it really has a value.
I have heard about all of mentioned payment system in this article. Some of them can make live easier because of simplicity of use like in case of using credit card. In this case you only have to remember PIN and have your credit card. In this case even if you lose credit card your money will be safe if you are only person who knows the PIN number. Safety of this method depends on user of credit card.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are using bitcoin case of security is more complicated your coins have to be kept on physical data storage ( like hdd, pendrive) and this storage can be easly damaged. You can also kept your bitcoins online but there is a lot of hackers attack on "online banks" or bitcoin stock exchange.
I have heard about all of presented payments system. Also I use them except Billon, because Billon is not officially launched on market. However, when this happens I will try it.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in the topic of Cryptocurrency of about 2 years. Virtual money are becoming more and more popular, but the process is slowed down by financial institutions and governments because they do not have any benefits of storage and tranfers virtual money. Government also can not manipulate the amount of Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. These factors mean that bitcoin is very attractive but it is still not enough stable and independent to use it in everyday life.
The best thing about Cryptocurrency is that you do not have to carry all those cards and money with you everywhere. Your prone is all you need, and it is quite secure. I'm personally looking forward to replacing the conventional currency with Cryptocurrency. It will change all banking system and I think for the better.
ReplyDeletethink that new alternative types of electronic payments will be rising. The reason is that people wish to remain anonymous like in case with cash payments, but currently it is almost impossible. All bank transactions are being registered and enrolled. Recently, a number of anonymous currencies appeared, such as Bitcoin and Dogcoin, but they are very unstable financially. That is why we are waiting for new solutions, maybe exactly for Billon, however, I haven’t heard about this form of payment before.
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ReplyDeletePersonally, I haven't heard about future solutions which could make buying easy for us. However, I've seen some interesting movies about the future, showing how people could pay by means of their hands. Of course, they probably had some kind of implants. Anyway, I'm really curious if these days will come someday. And what is your opinion about this kind of solution?
ReplyDelete@Marcin Konarski
ReplyDeleteBillon start very soon in closed beta tests. I will send you invitation when we open that tests.
@ Jan Porowski
ReplyDeleteI can totally agree with you. I think it will be some kind of revolution in banking and payment systems. Im one of developer in Billon and we belive that cryptocurrency and electronic payment are the future.
Patrycja has written quite an interesting comment – I have the same feelins for NFC cards. Funny as it turned out because at first, when the bank sent me the obligatory NFC card I was unhappy and I really didn't like the idea of this kind of payment. Now I tend to avoid the shops that are not equipped with one of those modern terminals.
ReplyDeleteAdam pointed out a fact that have been curious about for as long as I remember. Can anyone explain the situation with checks in the US ? Why are they still so popular ?
As far as Bitcoin is concerned, I never tried using it – I didn't need to. We hear about the cases of Bitcoins being stolen – It's important to remember that those accidents happen not because of the flaws in Bitcoin concept but always because of human mistake and lack of knowledge how to handle and secure digital currency.
I only heard about bitcoins. In my opinion internet currency is the future. When money all countries depreciate. Bitcoin and gold are still more worth.
ReplyDeleteI often use the paypal payment, payment cards and payment on the phone - this is very comfortable. In my opinion, traditional money will soon disappear from use.
But will people want to use them? Are the current payment systems secure? Maybe you know some other innovative payment systems?
ReplyDeleteBitcoins. Heh. The biggest troll on the internet. Make it worth something and people change their whole lives around. Wow let's make payments online for things and stuff. Like You would with - I don't know - a freakin credit card? Yeah let's all make this invisble unreal currency worth more than a real one. Just like WoW gold when it was more valuable than Yen. We don't need more new things, let's improve on what we use.
Unless ofcourse You're a darknet user, then well, story changes.