FinanceBAM News

As cheque, credit cards and chip and pin have been introduced as an alternative to carrying cash around, cash is not needed to be carried at all, as reported by the Financial Times on 11^th May.

However, if you need to go to your local shop to buy some sandwiches or a drink, you still need to have some spare change in your pockets. But this is all about to change; you may even be able to protect the pennies in your pockets from ever seeing daylight.

In September the banking industry plans to introduce a ‘contactless’ credit and debit card system across the UK that will allow you to pay for items costing less than £10 by just swiping their card across a reader.

You will be able to buy newspapers, tea coffee, smaller priced items without even having to hand over your card. All you will need to do is flash it across the reader and the money will be deducted. Such similar schemes have been in use for years in Hong Kong, where people can buy these cards from their local seven eleven and use the card for multiple purposes like bus fares, local shops and ferry fares.

These cards will work in exactly the same way as credit cards but you will have to memorize pin numbers, it will be used as a pay-as-u-go card. These cards will able to be topped up by online banking or at local shops.

This scheme is initially set to hit the London region where a sample test of 1000 machines shall be installed after which the same trend shall then be installed throughout the country. There will be over 100,000 places that will accept this card and where the machines shall be in installed like, restaurants, vending machines, newspaper shops, pubs and sports stadiums.