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The following scenario is fictionalized, however
all the technology necessary to make Electronic
Credit Systems (ECS) a reality is commonly
in use.
Bill works as an account executive for an
advertising agency; Melinda cares for their
two children, Brian and Emily.
Bill is on the way to the airport to visit
clients in another city. He transmits a cash
payment from his ECS-enabled cell phone to
the taxi driver’s receiving device,
entering the amount plus a tip on his cell
phone keypad. He uses the voice authentication
feature to secure the payment for finalization,
rather than the PIN, fingerprint, and iris
print security options also available to him.
Yesterday, Bill phoned his office to download
the corporate expense file for his trip into
his ECS-enabled cell phone. This file gives
Bill credit limits for expenses to be charged
on his corporate credit association account
and a cash balance to spend on incidentals.
Most conveniently, Bill’s transactions
are stored directly in the expense file with
the push of a button. At the end of his trip,
he transmits his completed file to his company’s
accounting department electronically, obviating
the necessity of saving receipts and filling
out extensive expense reports.
Airport check-in is accelerated and security
is ascertained with the electronic ticket
confirmation code and iris print in Bill’s
ECS-enabled device. Bill checks the airline
file in his ECS device for promotions and
cumulative miles stored there for ready access.
A back-up copy of this information is automatically
sent to his email address. No need for Bill
to call the office to let his assistant know
that he made the flight; this information
was e-mailed to his office automatically when
he boarded the plane, a feature he selected
in his ECS airline preferences file. Given
that this was an internet communication, it
didn’t cost a dime.
On arrival, Bill takes the train into the
city. A mid-day discount for a low volume
travel period is automatically deducted from
his fare, which is paid through the ECS device.
At lunch, the waiter doesn’t need to
leave Bill’s table to get a credit card
authorization because the waiter’s portable
device processes the whole transaction wirelessly.
Bill accesses the special restaurant promotion
for ECS patrons that was beamed into his ECS
device the last time he visited this restaurant,
the amount of which is discounted from his
bill.
Bill takes a few moments to review some decisions
he needs to make about the new car he is planning
to buy this week-end. Bill will make the down-payment
for his car with a credit association account
number stored in his ECS device. Most likely,
the salesman will require that Bill use either
voice identification or his PIN number plus
either his finger print or iris print for
added security because of the large amount
of the transaction.
Melinda is getting the children ready for
school; then she will run some errands. Ten
year old Emily has her own ECS stand-alone
device for cash-only transactions. Melinda
checks to see if enough money is loaded into
Emily’s device and decides to add $5.00
by beaming the funds wirelessly from her device
to Emily’s. The school cafeteria and
the local drugstore where Emily often stops
for an after-school treat accept payment from
her device. Since all Emily’s “cash”
payments via ECS are traceable and recorded,
no cash value or transaction information is
lost if her device is lost or stolen.
Knowing that her own cash balance is low,
Melinda calls her bank and, in seconds, has
funds transmitted from her money market account
into the cash account in her ECS device. There
is no need for her to travel to a cash station
or write a check. After parking, Melinda beams
money directly into the ECS-enabled parking
meter. She chooses to use the anonymous, non-traceable
payment mode, as she does whenever making
small transactions.
At the grocery store, Melinda is relieved
that she no longer has to clip, save, and
organize paper coupons and store them in her
purse; carry the special grocery card that
used to be swiped at check-out, or wait in
line for check authorization at the customer
service desk. All these functions are fully
automated and stored in her ECS device, which
also contains her address and date book. The
grocery gives her a special discount for using
ECS because the checkout person only needs
to scan and bag. Furthermore, now that “cash”
is beamed, there is no money to count or to
“disappear” from the cash drawer.
Melinda has chosen her payment source from
the twenty-six different payment possibilities
that were stored securely in her device by
her bank’s customer service representative.
This information is kept on record at her
bank for reference in case her device is lost
or stolen. In addition to cash and her checking
account, these options include her credit
association accounts and all her store charges.
Since, with ECS, there are no cards to carry,
Melinda has opened charge accounts at more
stores which she tends to frequent. She benefits
from the promotions and discounts which each
store beams directly to her ECS device. At
the time of sale, each receipt is transmitted
to her portable device so returns are simplified
and she can review her purchases at any time
in the future. For each purchase, Melinda
can choose whether to have an itemized bill
sent to her email address, or only the payment
record for her household budgeting program.
Melinda returns home to find 17 year old Brian
purchasing a CD on line. Brian sets his ECS
device to interface with his computer and
he selects the button for the credit association
card his parents have recently opened for
him to pay for his purchase. |
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