At CES 2016 in Las Vegas we could see a number of new offerings around payment systems. They are all based on Internet technologies and mostly use one or more smartphone features and apps. But what about alternatives which are convenient and secure and even anonymous?
Via the Internet, everything is easy: no cash required, pay via telephone, bank or credit card. But what happens, if the transmission network or the bank system fails? Exactly this happened to me (and a few other visitors) in Copenhagen, Denmark during the morning of 2015-06-08. Trusting news reports on the limited use of cash and the nearly 100% acceptance of credit cards, I had only brought a few hundred Danish Cronas. But I had to understand on that very morning that without cash I could neither get a cappuccino nor could I go up the famous bell tower of the Vor Frelsers Kirke (Curch of Our Saviour). Obviously, the network required for credit card payments was unavailable over several hours – in the church as well as in the coffee bar only cash payments were accepted.
Of course, this is not the normal case as the downtime of communications networks or data centers can be reduced to just a few minutes per year. Sufficiently good availability measures should save us from similar annoying failures in the future.
But is it in the public interest to have payments made via telephone bill, credit cards, bank cards, smartphones (NFC), Internet (Paypal, Facebook Messenger). All such mechanisms allow the tracking of users, logging of transactions and clear association with individuals – at no Anonymity.
And how well secured are electronic payment systems against misuse by third parties? As we can often hear, companies forward even trusted/personal information to the secret service. Even if this is done according to law, we have to ask ourselves if we want to have our individual realms (dreams) of freedom sacrificed for some abstract feeling of safety. Or if the log of our search queries and payments are made available to other market players, who sent us customized advertisements. Or, in the worst case, how other third parties can use our account data for payments and retrievals. These cases show the missing digital sovereignty we have over our payment data.
But what can we do? Quite a bit – here are a few examples based I felt worked for me:
- During our last trip to Japan we have bought an ICOCA card which is used for buying public transport tickets in and around Osaka. The card is anonymous and can be replenished using cash (or other payment methods). Applicable readers deduct the required fare amount from the amount as registered on the card. Corrections (in case of mistakes when using the card) can be done in nearly every station.
However, we found out that the card is not only used for buying transport tickets, but also for getting beverages at one of the ubiquitous vending machines or for purchases in selected stores (not only in Osaka, but all across Japan). Simple, anonymous and as secure as a purse of a mobile phone – also those can be stolen or lost. - In Germany I enjoy using may cash card offered by the local bank for paying transport tickets. This saves me from a tedious sarch for small change (seeing the costs for just one ride I do not think that small change is the right phrase). At the same time, I avoid trouble at the ticket vending machine when handling bills or providing change. Payments are anonymous and the card is in my purse anyhow as it can be used as a bank card.
Unfortunately, the cash card was not well accepted – may be to some degree due to the careless introduction and support at the local banks. For example, the Munich public transport authority has ceased accepting cash card payments in early 2016. - And there is still(?) cash around…
Reference: Jürgen Schmieder: „Vertrau mir“/“Trust me“; in Süddeutsche Zeitung, #9, 2016-01-13; Jürgen Schmieder: „CES - Eine Zukunft ohne Münzen und Scheine“/“CES – a Future Without Coins or Bills“; URL: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/digital/bezahlen-ohne-bargeld-vertrau-mir-1.2814453; retrieved on 2016-01-17, 12:37 UTC)
