Cashless payment system needs tweaking

Sometimes I feel like I belong in the last century.

When I worked in London I was the last person in my office to get a cellphone, I prefer talking to people face to face rather than sending SMS messages, and I still have a good old-fashioned desktop computer rather than a nice portable laptop or tablet.

Until recently I was one of those people waiting in line at shops who was always grumbling when another customer was using cashless payment, wondering to myself why they couldn't just use good old-fashioned cash, especially when the payment had some complications and was taking longer than normal.

But looking back, I am sure I was also a source of frustration for the shop assistant and my fellow shoppers. Whenever I was in a shop and was paying for items, I was always fumbling around with the small bills and taking ages to count the exact money, bringing a frustrated expression to the face of the checkout assistant, and sometimes grumbling from the customers waiting behind me to be served.

Now I can confidently say that, 16 years into this century, I have joined the modern age. I have just joined the millions of people who no longer need to carry lots of cash with them every day, and it has made life so much more straightforward and easy, not only when shopping at major retailers, but also even small stores where I just need to scan the QR code and the money is miraculously transferred.

But cashless payment also brings with it other issues, security being one of them.

Is the system entirely secure? What if you lose your phone and someone else can access the quickpay feature. There is no need for a password with this, so the thief could just pick up you phone, go into WeChat and spend away.

I would suggest that this technology is improved, and should require your password even when you access quickpay, otherwise it is too easy for someone else to spend your money.

Using cashless payment also brings up the issue of always needing to have your phone to hand. It doesn't pay to rely on it too much - say if you have no cash in your pocket, you are just ready to make a payment and your phone battery runs out. That could put you in a very tricky situation.

Perhaps it's better to still have cash as a backup. After all, real money doesn't need batteries, and you can still use it even if there is some unforeseen technological glitch, which could then delay the other customers.

I think it is better to belong somewhere between the 20th and 21st centuries for the time being, until the new technology is perfected.

After all, I don't want to become that person the other customers are grumbling about!

Contact the writer at ian@chinadaily.com.cn