With current equipment, it would be possible (though slower and more fiddly) to create a system where retail receipts get sent to your phone via Bluetooth or MMS instead of being printed out and discarded. MMS would be easy when paying by card, since the shop can forward the e-receipt to your bank that knows your number, but then you get a bank record anyway, so there's no point. Getting an e-receipt by Bluetooth when paying cash means telling the shopkeeper your phone's ID, making sure it's received and so on. You'd need some kind of pad that can detect the Bluetooth ID of a device placed on it so all you need at the store is a space on the counter that says "Place phone here for electronic receipt".
Mokalus of Borg
PS - It's impractical and the transition period would be painful.
PPS - And I'm not sure it's better than paper, either.
2 comments:
In the UK they're working on this chip thing that will allow you to pay for things using your phone, kind of like the GoCard system, where you touch your phone to the point and your account is debited. I assume there will be some kind of 'receipt' or record of this.
I think it's an awesome idea. I would love to be able to get to the point where the only thing I need to take out of a night is my phone and lip gloss!
I've heard of a similar thing on vending machines (probably in Japan, though I'm not certain about that).
Paying for things with your phone is certainly a very convenient idea, but the privacy advocates will avoid it as long as possible, because it presents another and easier way for companies to track your spending.
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