全通翻譯/翻譯社

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.


行動付費開啟消費新紀元？

科技與財經界的時事評論員預言現金的消亡已有好些時日。有人推測，行動付費的崛起將使紙鈔瀕臨絕種。我們離無現金的未來到底有多近？

行動付款界的先驅是推特執行長傑克‧多西於二○○九年所共同創辦的 Square。這家公司以其能插入智慧型手機的信用卡讀取機最為人所知。根據最近的估計，這項裝置已讓兩百萬間小企業以每年六十億美元的速度在進行交易。

不過，這家公司的最新進展是透過推出行動應用程式 Pay With Square 以終止信用卡的使用。當你有這款應用程式，你只要找到你想去的商家然後走進店裡。你的帳號會即刻顯示在收銀員的 iPad 螢幕上，而當你訂購並提供自己的使用者名稱，你毋須碰手機就已完成付費。

如果紙鈔和信用卡似乎就此要被淘汰，還是得記住虛擬付費的完全行動化仍有問題存在。

資料來源：biz 互動英語電子報