行动付费开启消费新纪?元？Cashing Out

简介∶随著行动装置的普遍，新世代的行动生活模式俨然成形。不论是娱乐或生活面，一波波的科技潮流正在改变你我的世界。从最热门的行销新手法微电影，到取代现今交易的行动付费革命，抓住全球热趋势，你准备好了吗？

Cashing Out

Commentators in the field of technology and finance have been prophesying the death of cash for some time. The rise of mobile payments, it is speculated, would make greenbacks an endangered species. How close are we to a cashless future?

The trailblazer in the field of mobile payments is Square, cofounded by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in 2009. The company is best known for its credit card reader, which plugs into smartphones. The device has allowed 2 million small businesses to conduct transactions at a rate of US$6 billion a year by the most recent estimates.

However, the latest moves are to completely do away with plastic through the introduction of the mobile app Pay With Square. Once you have the app, all you have to do is locate the business you want and walk into the store. Your account will immediately show up on the cashier’s iPad screen, and once you’ve ordered and given your username, your purchase is paid for without you having to touch your phone.

If it seems like paper and plastic are ready for the scrap heap, bear in mind that the move to full mobility in virtual payments is not without problems.


行动付费开启消费新纪元？

科技与财经界的时事评论员预言现金的消亡已有好些时日。有人推测，行动付费的崛起将使纸钞濒临绝种。我们离无现金的未来到底有多近？

行动付款界的先驱是推特执行长杰克·多西於二○○九年所共同创办的 Square。这家公司以其能插入智慧型手机的信用卡读取机最为人所知。根据最近的估计，这项装置已让两百万间小企业以每年六十亿美元的速度在进行交易。

不过，这家公司的最新进展是透过推出行动应用程式 Pay With Square 以终止信用卡的使用。当你有这款应用程式，你只要找到你想去的商家然後走进店里。你的账号会即刻显示在收银员的 iPad 萤幕上，而当你订购并提供自己的使用者名称，你毋须碰手机就已完成付费。

如果纸钞和信用卡似乎就此要被淘汰，还是得记住虚拟付费的完全行动化仍有问题存在。

2012/11/05(一)		A bunch of us are heading off to the pub after work. Want to tag along? 我们一群人下班後要去酒吧，要不要跟我们一起去？
2012/11/06 (二)		We'd like to request your presence at a dinner this evening. 我们今晚想邀请您来晚餐。
2012/11/07 (三)		Would you care to join us for lunch? 你想看我们一起去吃午餐吗？
2012/11/08(四)		Excuse me, where is Free Airline's check-in counter? 不好意思，请问弗利航空的报到柜台在哪里？
2012/11/09 (五)		I'd like to check in for my flight to Los Angeles. 我要办理前往洛杉矶的登机手续。