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Have your ever imagined a world where you would never think about withdrawing cash from an ATM? Cash payments are dying and technology is taking over. As we move into an increasing digitally focussed world, it is our wallets which are next.

Today, digital payments technology technology has transformed our daily lives. It’s all about doing the things you want, whether that’s paying for your groceries if  you ‘ve left your wallet at home, or sending money to loved ones overseas.

Mobile payments are an increasingly lucrative market for large technology companies. Recently, Google unveiled its new mobile payments platform- Android Pay apart from Google Wallet. The new payments software allows anyone with an Android smartphone to upload their credit card information from Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express into their smartphones. Users will not be able for items at select stores by tapping their phone against a special pad at during checkout.

Samsung, too unveiled its payment option called ‘Samsung Pay’. The system worked in a similar fashion to Apple and Google’s solution. In essence, it used the smartphones NFC chip to communicate with retailers. Apple used the same technology for its payment solution in the Apple Watch.

Now, the question arises that why have people begun shifting away from in-store purchases?

1. Ease of use– Most people head online due to the ease in finding the best price. Comparing several deals against each other, including getting more information about them and reading customer reviews about the items becomes a much simpler process than heading to ‘several shops, comparing, prices and making cash payments there.
2. Modernization– We have accustomed to our modern technology overcoming outdated habits. Whether this be mobile, tablet, laptop, or console, these devices have become crucial to every part of what we do, and are consuming other industries as they grow.
3. Security– Perhaps of lesser importance to most, ‘cashlessness’ avoids crime. Whether or not this is a main driving factor behind the shift is debateable, but it should be seen that cashless economies have far lower levels of crime due to both reduced robbery and drug movement, and to a more trackable, less fraudulent marketplace.

Our wallets will soon become redundant in the face of mobile payments, form electronic cards to interactive wallets, the future of payment will be completely digital.

So, are you ready for a cashless/digital world?