I recently signed up for the Apple Card. The thinking is that it would be nice to have a backup payment plan just in case I forgot my wallet. There are too many times when my family and I have had to rush out the door. Think of the usual scenes in The Middle where Franky Heck is beating on everyone’s door and getting them to get dressed and running to the car yelling, “We’re Late!” Well, in these situations, I’m likely to forget my wallet, cash, driver’s license, socks, sanity… So, I think it is a good idea to have a backup plan like the Apple Card. Well, unless I forget my phone too, then I would need a coffee cup, a black marker and a piece of cardboard.
The next level in alternative payments would be along the lines of facial recognition. In an recent article, Ditching credit cards for facial recognition removes the last physical barrier between our bodies and Corporate America, the idea of paying with face recognition seems to be inevitible.
What is the overall end-game for technologies such as facial recognition payment solutions?
In the same article, a point is made that companies have been really focused on perfecting facial recognition solutions. By doing so, the leap to frictionless transactions can be made. Companies feel, based on research, that once the credit card swipe or cash transaction is removed, consumers are more likely to make more purchases. Sounds right, right? Imagine how you have your Itunes credentials stored in your Apple TV. When the kids ask for a show that you don’t own, it is so easy to just click Purchase. You don’t have to open your wallet and check how many dollars you have in there, it is just one click and bam, the show is playing and you have 3 temporarily satisfied kids.
Is this a good thing?
The people developing this technology feel like this is going to create a very secure purchasing environment as it will take away fraudulent scenarios where people will make purchases if they have a couple pieces of your information. You’ll need to be recognized to make a purchase. However, we all know, that no technology or solution is perfect. Some evil dudes out there will find a way to hack the technology or find a way to trick the system – because you know, some people just don’t believe in earning income legitimately.
I recently watched an Bloomberg show that revolved around the social media networks of China. They have a couple of facebook type services that are widely used by the citizens of China. However, in China, a lot of companies such as these social media platforms are partially owned and overseen by the government. Basically, the people of China in these urban communities use these social media platforms as their preferred payment methods. China also has installed a lot of facial recognition stations throughout parts of their urban cities. One example in the video, that you can watch below, is a person J-Walked across the street. They got picked up by facial recognition and money was immediately taken away from their social media wallet.
I highly doubt that free countries would go that route, but, you never really know how far things will go do we?
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