The Science of Paytag
“By any chance do you have some change on you?” “How much do you need?” “£2 would be great, if you have it.” “Sure, here you go.” “Thanks.” In five years that kind of conversation might not happen as often as it does today. The death of notes and coins as been talked about since the introduction of credit and debit cards, but there are a few developments that are making it more likely.
The most recent of these is the imminent introduction of PayTag, a sticker that can be placed on the back of mobile phones and used somewhat like the Oyster Card is on London’s bus and Tube system. The sticker would pass over a reading device and transactions of up to £15 can be made, increasing to £20 in June. In the short term it is only for Barclaycard Visa holders, but it is easy to imagine it being adopted by other banks and their customers. We are growing more and more accustomed to using certain devices and digital forms, so unlike 15 years ago the jump to a cashless society won’t be so abrupt.
Paytag could spell the end for traditional notes and coins, but only time will tell.
South Korea and Sweden are two countries that are already ahead of the UK and the US in regards to this. It helps that they are more technologically wired than the UK and the US thanks to their faster wireless speeds and successful mobile phone companies. Koreans have been able to do internet banking from their mobiles since 2000, similarly they have been able to charge online items to their phone bill since that date. 2008 saw the emergence of ‘T-money’ in South Korea, which was basically electronic cash held on their SIM cards with the opportunity to top it up. Sweden is similarly seeing changes, cash for instance is no longer dealt with at certain bank branches. That loose change in your pocket could soon be one more fond memory.
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