Apple activated its foot-soldiers to promote its digital payment tool called Apple Pay. According to the rumors, the staff at the company’s stores in the United States and France are encouraging new and old customers to pay using the app. To make their labor easier, the tech company is giving away $5 and €5 credits to use in purchases at the stores.
It might sound weird, but for quite a while, people have been able to walk into a store and buy things using an iPhone app called Apple Pay. Understandably, there are a lot of individuals that remain skeptical about using it, and that is why the company is using a promotion to encourage Apple users to get on board the digital wallet wagon after the feature was made available in France.
To make the transmission easier, the staff working in the retail stores are offering special assistance to potential users. They will explain how to download and use the app, and they can even tell people how to link their bank and Apple Pay accounts. However, the rumor has it that the special credit is only available for new users.
The currency of the future is going to be intangible
The concept is very simple. People download the app and register their user. Then, they go to the menu and select which of their bank accounts is going to be linked to Apple Pay, and that’s pretty much it. Using it couldn’t be simpler. The app can be downloaded on tablets, smartphones and iWatches alike, and it works in one of the many registered retailers. Once there, they just have to open the app, get the selected device within the range of the reader and tap on the pay button.
Different versions of the alternative money have been seen in the past many times. One of the most famous is the Disney Dollars. There is also Pay Pal and BitCoins among many others. These companies will always offer something “real” money can’t.
For example, Apple Pay will offer discounts in the App store from time to time, and BitCoins offer their users a high level of anonymity making their transactions almost untraceable. The feature went live in Hong Kong and France today with the help of credit card monsters American Express, Mastercard, and Visa.
In fact, the idea is already more widespread than most people think, and there are lots of establishment with the adequate technology, but their staff is oblivious to it. For example, Jake Odmark, actor, and musician, said on a twit he had used Apple Pay at the liquor store and the clerk was very surprised.
Before Apple Pay, there was Credit Cards, Money before that, and long ago, there was salt as transaction
Most people don’t understand what the actual concept of money is. Money is a trading method that evolved from very primitive business systems. For example, in the past, if someone wanted shoes, they would trade one of their things, let’s say food, to a shoe-maker. Moreover, people bought hours of work for food and other supplies. It wasn’t effective, and then money was created.
The idea was to establish that something had value, and pay work hours with it, that is when the currency was born. Throughout history, many things served as currency including salt, gold, and wooden sticks. This new system allowed people to accumulate acquisitive power, unlike previous methods, they could work and save “money” to buy more expensive things.
But carrying gold or sacks of salt bags around was very uncomfortable and dangerous as robbers plagued ancient trade routes. As a result, a group of Chinese merchants proposed a new idea. A piece of paper that acted as an IOU, which is a promise of having the money. The idea was to replace heavy visible bags for conceivable pieces of paper that could be used to purchase things, and paper money was invented.
Apple Pay’s introduction would be a seamless transition
The system was perfected by European merchants who established institutions in different countries. There, customers could store their gold, or real currency, to receive a paper that indicated the worth of the things in the vault. They were the first models of banks in which modern economy is based on. However, the system is shifting again. Credit and debit cards almost entirely replaced paper money, and it seems like they have their days counted.
Modern society moves around mobile gadgets that are connected to the internet such as smartphones, tablets, and watches among others. They have replaced a lot of things including land lines and the mail system. Accordingly, there are several apps available that can be used to pay things like public transport, so it would not be weird to wake up one day, and find out the wallet is not necessary anymore.
Source: MacRumors