在不遠的將來 實體信用卡將徹底消亡?

Imagine strolling into your local supermarket, popping your essentials into a basket, heading to the bagging area - where no items are unexpected - and walking out with your weekly shop.

想象一下，當你漫步在附近的超市，把你的日常用品“啪”的一下扔到籃子裏，再前往裝袋區，隨後把你每週的日常消耗品帶出超市即可。

There is no need to make a payment, no fiddling with coins, and no placement of a debit or credit card in a terminal. In fact, there is no till at all.

在這個過程中，付款是冗餘的：既不需要擺弄硬幣，也沒有地方把信用卡或者借記卡放在pos機終端。事實上，根本就沒有付款櫃檯。

This is not casual shoplifting but a realistic prospect of the future way to pay - when technology recognises your presence, scans your shopping, and invisibly takes payment from your account.

以上過程並非偶然的偷竊，而是對未來支付方式的合理展望：科技手段可以識別出你的存在，並掃描出你的購物品，從而在無形中幫助用戶在帳戶里扣錢支付。

Amer Sajed, the chief executive of Barclaycard, says it will spell the steady demise of the physical plastic credit card, which his company introduced to the UK 50 years ago.

巴克萊銀行的首席執行官阿梅爾·薩伊德指出，新的支付方式意味着傳統信用卡的逐步消亡，這種基於物理介質的信用卡正是由巴克萊銀行在50年前引入英國的。

"People will be able to seamlessly shop going between the web, an app or in store," he says.

他說：“人們將能夠在網上，app以及實體店裏進行銜接完美的購物。”

It will also create a battle for control of your digital wallet between banks and technology companies, as well as prompt debate over our privacy and security.

銀行和推出隱性支付的公司將爲用戶數字錢包的控制權展開爭奪。個人隱私和帳戶安全等潛在問題也將迅速引起爭論。

Credit cards have evolved since 1966, but the basic procedure of payment has remained the same. A card is either handed over, or the number on it is read out or entered into a machine.

從1966年起信用卡就一直在進化，但是核心支付過程卻從未變過：人們要麼把卡手把手地交給售貨員，要麼將卡塞進機器，讀取上面的數字和信息。

All that requires the existence of a plastic card, but Mr Sajed says this is being replaced by wearable items.

這樣的交易過程僅僅需要一張信用卡，但是薩伊德先生表示，這些將被可穿戴設備所取代。

At a display for Barclaycard staff, he shows off a plastic ring, a bracelet and a keychain which all contain a chip allowing the shopper to make payments on credit.

在對巴克萊銀行員工的展示中，他展示了信用指環、項鍊以及鑰匙環，這些都包括了可以讓購物者通過信用卡支付的芯片。

This, he says, is just a bridge to technology that will see customers identified by their eye or fingerprint, located via their smartphone, and able to shop without queuing up at a checkout.

他表示，通過這樣的途徑，高科技可以利用眼睛和指紋識別分辨顧客，同時也可以利用智能手機來定位出顧客的位置。這樣在購物時就不需要在收銀臺前排隊了。

Although cash, cheques and indeed cards will remain an option for shoppers, he says, these new ways of paying will take a growing share of the payments market in 10 years' time.

儘管現金、支票以及信用卡將會仍然成爲顧客支付的選擇，但是他表示，這種可穿戴式的支付手段將在10年內逐漸佔據更大的市場份額。