用現(xiàn)金支付咖啡或買報紙的時代是否已經(jīng)一去不復(fù)返了？如今電子支付已經(jīng)非常普及聚至，我們可以通過手機，無接觸銀行卡本橙，甚至手指尖付款扳躬。那么電子支付方式都有什么優(yōu)勢和劣勢呢？
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There is nothing worse than fumbling around in your pocket trying to find some small change to pay for a newspaper or a coffee. So it's good to know that new technology is making cash - banknotes and coins - a thing of the past, turning us into a cashless society.
Today, many of us already use credit and debit cards for financial transactions so there's no need to carry around huge wads of hard currency. And now it's possible to make contactless payments using tap-and-go cards which are regular bankcards but with a built-in chip and antenna. The card reader sends out a radio frequency and, when you bring the card close to the reader, the antenna picks up the signal to make the payment.
Paying this way or spending on 'plastic' - an informal name for a credit card - can put you at risk of fraud. Criminals try to steal cards, or the information on them, to make purchases online or in shops. However, contactless payment is capped - in the UK the limit is ￡30. And, if someone does go on a spending spree with your card, your bank covers you against the loss - something that wouldn't happen if your banknotes were stolen. Also, the introduction of chip and PIN technology has led to a drop in fraud and has even been helping businesses by cutting the time people spend at tills in shops.
But, if getting your bankcard out seems like too much trouble, there's now a solution using wearable tech - that's clothing and accessories that include computer and electronic technologies. Kenneth Cukier, economist and technology expert, says "this is intended for people who are incredibly lazy who don't want to take their card out of their wallet, or use their phone, or use their watch. People are going to be making more purchases more of the time - particularly for small-valued goods."
And, although our mobile phones are another way of making payments, BBC reporter Kate Russell says that when this is inconvenient you can use the fingo-pay system which "reads the unique maps of veins under the surface of your finger." The trick is remembering which finger you registered with - that's when good old-fashioned cash might save the day! What do you prefer to use when you buy something?
vocabulary
fumble [?f?mbl] 掏來掏去
small change 零錢
banknotes 紙幣
credit 信用
debit cards 現(xiàn)金賬戶卡
transactions 交易
wads 一扎一扎
hard currency 現(xiàn)金
contactless payments 無接觸支付
tap-and-go 點擊付款
antenna 天線
plastic (informal) （俗語）信用卡
fraud 詐騙
purchases 購物
spending spree 瘋狂采購
chip and PIN 密碼
tills
n.（大商店中的）交款處甚亭，收銀臺( till的名詞復(fù)數(shù) );（現(xiàn)金出納機的）放錢的抽屜
v. 耕作贷币，犁地( till的第三人稱單數(shù) )
wearable tech 可穿戴科技
accessory 附件，配飾
incredibly 難以置信地亏狰，很役纹，極為
fingo-pay 指紋支付
vein 靜脈，紋理
make sentences
The man was arrested after he tried to buy a new car using fake banknotes.
I called my bank after I saw a suspicious transaction on my credit card bill.
Jane was given lots of money for her birthday so she decided to go on a big spending spree.
John said he couldn't afford to pay for a holiday but I told him to put it on the plastic.
At the border I was only allowed to use hard currency to pay for my visa.
question
Which part of your body does the fingo-pay system use to know it is you who is paying for something?
answer
It uses your finger.
