Who Needs Cards and Cash With Portable Credit Card Machines?

As a consumer I carry less and less cash with me these days.  The introduction of portable credit card machines has meant being able to pay with debit or credit card almost everywhere.  I have found them a blessing when visiting events where there are a number of mobile businesses.

Technology never stops progressing and now we are even able to make contactless payments.   A payment is taken by simply placing the payment card onto the screen of the card machine, eliminating the need to use a pin code.

With mobile technology built into portable credit card machines, the need for cash is slowly reducing as the number of retailers not having a card payment method is minimal.

It is not just cash that is getting used less and less, it seems that our credit cards could become a thing of the past too.

As a culture that uses mobile phones increasingly, and with more than 102 million apps available to control an array of elements in our lives, it is only a matter of time before we start paying through our phones and tablets too.  In fact this technology is already in place and it is projected that 20 million people will use their mobiles to pay for goods and services by the end of the decade.

The latest shift away from cash and card payments is a mobile payment platform called ZAPP.  HSBC, First Direct, Nationwide, Santander and Metro Bank are the financiers that are taking on this new technology that will enable their 18 million UK current account holders to make payments from their mobile phones.

ZAPP is not a new smartphone app, but a platform that synchronises with existing online banking apps.  The technology with initially work with online payments but is expected to be enable for at least one in five store payments from late 2015.

It is claimed that ZAPP is a more secure payment option than current card payments.  It uses random tokens to represent the purchase.  This means that the consumer does not have to share static payment data with the retailer as you do when handing over a card to make a payment on a portable credit card machine for example.

Your credit or debit card number never changes, which is why cards have become so insecure and open to fraud.  Once the credit card information has got into the wrong hands it can be used repeatedly to run up fraudulent debts.  Unlike the ZAPP tokens which are designed for a multichannel digital world with security in mind.  The unique codes for each purchase made via ZAPP will expire after three minutes.

So why should a consumer use ZAPP?

• At the point of payment the consumer can see their real time bank balance which gives greater control over finances.
• The technology is safer using digital tokens, unlike card payments which send sensitive data.
• A transaction will be completed in approximately 12 seconds.
• Customers will be able to scan a code into the handset from a paper bill or the screen on a modern card machine.

So is it really to leave our wallets and purses at home?  Will we ever feel secure without just a little bit of cash in our pockets?

Can you be converted?

I would love to hear your point of view.