Mark Matheny
April 9, 2016
For years many have speculated on the ideal of a cashless society in which every transaction is collected in data bases, and verification of your electronic bank account is done by a scan of your fingerprint.
Now in Japan, according a news article, the Government there will conduct an experiment where "foreign tourists will be able to verify their identities and buy things at stores using only their fingerprints."
The Japanese Government is hoping to have the system fully implemented by 2020 for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. According to the article :
The experiment will have inbound tourists register their fingerprints and other data, such as credit card information, at airports and elsewhere.Tourists would then be able to conduct tax exemption procedures and make purchases after verifying their identities by placing two fingers on special devices installed at stores.The Inns and Hotels Law requires foreign tourists to show their passports when they check into ryokan inns or hotels.The government plans to substitute fingerprint authentication for that requirement.A total of 300 souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels and other establishments will participate in the experiment. They are located in areas that are popular among foreign tourists such as Hakone, Kamakura, Yugawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, and Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture.The government plans to gradually expand the experiment by next spring, to cover areas including tourist sites in the Tohoku region and urban districts in Nagoya.Officials of the government claim that security measures will be in place to safeguard the information of customers and prevent breaches of the Private information.
Of course, the real agenda behind these types of programs is to acclimate citizens around the world to the idea of a cashless society.
According to one report, non cash transactions are not only becoming more popular among the average citizen, but it is increasing among companies as well:
The digital revolution will extend well beyond consumer payments and retail banking, causing significant changes in transaction banking. As customers grow accustomed to faster and more convenient payments on the retail side, they will soon demand similar conveniences and service levels in transaction banking. In fact, recent research by McKinsey & Company and by Greenwich Associates already shows a growing preference for digital channels among companies. And having witnessed the impact of nonbanks in consumer banking, transaction bankers are becoming more aware of the nonbank threat in their own backyard, and of the potentially major downside of failing to invest in digital infrastructures and services.According to Forbes, cash transactions are "no longer king" as digital transactions begin to soar globally:
Debit and credit transactions are taking the place of cash around the world — faster in developing countries than in North America and Europe, according to a recent report by Cap Gemini and RBS, the UK bank. Total non-cash transactions will reach 365.5 billion in 2013, growing at more than 20 percent in developing markets but only 5.6 percent in mature markets.In some cases, developing countries will be able to leapfrog mature markets by moving directly to newer, more flexible technologies in payments, similar to their rapid adoption of wireless without the burden of wire legacy systems.“Developing markets are establishing initiatives and upgrading infrastructure in order to boost non-cash volumes,” the report found. Mobile phones are making a huge impact and that will only increase as inexpensive smartphones proliferate.“M-payments are expected to grow by 60.8 percent annually through to 2015. E-payments will decelerate to 15.9 percent growth during the same period. There is a gradual convergence of e- and m-payments as the distinction between the two diminishes.”The same report went on to say that checks have almost disappeared in many of the markets:
Checks have almost disappeared in many markets, making up just 4.8 percent on non-cash transactions in Europe in 2012. The U.S. remains a checking account powerhouse, a somewhat dubious distinction, accounting for 65.1 percent of global check transactions.We are also seeing the drive to have more companies take on fingerprint scanning for financial transactions. Declining confidence among consumers regarding the use of mobile transactions has many companies looking into biometric technologies for financial transactions. According to a report by The Deloitte Center for Financial Services :
eroding consumer confidence in the security of mobile financial service applications has forced the industry to take a closer look at incorporating technologies such as biometrics to help alleviate fears and insecurities. The report seems right on cue following our post last week about the need for the financial services and banking industries to more closely assess the use of biometrics for customer and employee ID and to better secure mobile devices while engaging in transactions.As electronic transactions increase, and cash transactions decrease, citizens here in the United States and around the world will lose the freedom that cash transactions provide - anonymity.
This is the true agenda of the Elites. With electronic transactions, data collection will record all purchases and all payments. This will also enable government entities to freeze transactions among individuals or companies at their discretion.
Remember these words:
"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:16-17
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