Page 28 - Sphere No.25 (Aug 2009)

26 SPHERE
IN JUNE 2004, an article in The Observer, an up-market British
Sunday newspaper, peered into a crystal ball and predicted huge
changes in the way people make small purchases. In 2010, the
report suggested, you would be able to buy a coffee from a vend-
ing machine by waving a mobile phone in front of a scanner,
with details of the purchase appearing on your next phone bill.
The newspaper article was right about the trend but wrong
about the geography and the date. This type of purchase is not
yet possible in Britain but it is already commonplace in Japan,
pilot schemes are in place in Singapore and later this year con-
sumers in Shanghai will be able to use mobile phones to make
purchases for leading brands of fast food and coffee.
In fact, the move away from using cash for small purchases – or
micropayments as they are commonly called – is accelerating,
largely as a result of developments in Asia. And while the use of
mobiles may be the latest manifestation of the trend, it is essentially
R E T A I L
PHOTOS: KEITH CHAN
THINKING
SMALL
Micropayments made easy
By Michelle Park
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