用现金支付咖啡或买报纸的时代是否已经一去不复返了？如今电子支付已经非常普及，我们可以通过手机，无接触银行卡，甚至手指尖付款。那么电子支付方式都有什么优势和劣势呢？
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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 [ˈfʌmbl] 掏来掏去
small change 零钱
banknotes 纸币
credit 信用
debit cards 现金账户卡
transactions 交易
wads 一扎一扎
hard currency 现金
contactless payments 无接触支付
tap-and-go 点击付款
antenna 天线
plastic (informal) （俗语）信用卡
fraud 诈骗
purchases 购物
spending spree 疯狂采购
chip and PIN 密码
tills
n.（大商店中的）交款处，收银台( till的名词复数 );（现金出纳机的）放钱的抽屉
v. 耕作，犁地( till的第三人称单数 )
wearable tech 可穿戴科技
accessory 附件，配饰
incredibly 难以置信地，很，极为
fingo-pay 指纹支付
vein 静脉，纹理
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.
