Do you remember the last time you used cash?It was some time ago. And, if you did need money when you didn’t have enough in your wallet, you probably needed to walk blocks to find an ATM to withdraw some money. This is because China’s online payment platforms, like Alipay and WeChat Pay, have long been widely used by the public.
As these systems become more advanced, facial recognition will soon become the daily way of payment for every person living in China. The benefit of online payment is countless, especially during the epidemic, because all purchases are done by contactless payment which avoids the risk of the virus spreading via exchanging cash with a clerk.
Cashless consumption is happening in other parts of the world, too. According to a recent video by DW Documentary, the number of people using cash in Europe decreased during the epidemic compared to purchasing habits before the coronavirus outbreak. Habits have changed for several reasons. The most common reasons are that people think the process of paying will increase the risk of contact with germs/viruses and they do not need to worry about the security of the store since all the money is on the cloud/internet.
However, the video noted that due to the coating of on paper money the chance of it carrying the virus was unlikely. As expected, not everyone likes to use the new cashless paying method. Some of the consumers who insist on using cash are worried about the possibility of their private information being stolen or too easy to trace. come in, it is undeniable that online payment has become a significant part of everyone’s daily life, whether or not they support it.
Behind every progress, some things need to be adjusted and a balance needs to be created for everyone to understand and accept. It is similar to the much-debated question in recent years: Do all physical stores need to shift to online stores? The answer is both yes and no because it depends on the type of business.
