Credit cards have been with us for decades now and we all know their deficiencies, such as losing one or having it stolen. But new technologies are offering alternatives.
Idea 1: “Computer on a card”. A company has put together a complete computer embedded in the card along with touch buttons on the surface. One card can act as a number of cards. You have to enter a pin every time you use it, so if it gets lost or stolen it is just a dead piece of plastic.
Idea 2: Smart phone adaptor. With this you plug in a small device into the smart phone that is able to act as a credit card.
Idea 3: Bling tag. This is an electronic tag with a social network aspect to it. Say a cafe is having a slow day and they want to attract some more custom. They go into their Bling facebook account and make a special offer active for the next two hours – say 50% off everything. Anyone linked to the facebook page will see the offer – customer wins with a bargain and the cafe wins by not having to advertise in the traditional way.
This could be used to prompt a discussion in the classroom about the future of banking, ecommerce and mobile payments or how social networking can be used to promote products. Perhaps students could conduct their own research and find out how whether their friends and family would be prepared to use some of the new features.
