A Simple Swipe on a Phone, and You're Paid By DAVID POGUE September 29, 2010
It's always thrilling when somebody looks at the Way Things Have Always Been Done, and then asks: Why? And then goes on to change the world forever. 1967: Why is it necessary to wait in line for a human teller if all you want to do is withdraw cash? 1974: Why shouldn't your document on the computer screen look the same way it will when it's printed? 1991: If shampoo always settles to the bottom of the bottle, why is the cap on top? Recently, a San Francisco company has been asking an equally groundshaking question: Why can't everyone accept credit cards? Look, credit cards are great. There's a paper trail, there's fraud protection, there's incredible convenience - just swipe and go. But why is it that only companies accept them? Why can't we use them to pay the piano teacher, the baby sitter, the lawn-mowing teenager, even first graders at their lemonade stand? Why aren't credit cards accepted at garage sales, food carts and PTA bake sales? Heck, when your tipsy buddy wants to borrow $20 for a cab home, why can't you eliminate the awkwardness and future conflict by just running his Visa card on the spot? ... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/technology/personaltech/30pogue.html _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
