Let's Put the Future Behind Us

Dateline: Auckland, 15th August 2023.I remember many years ago when I first went to a restaurant in Moscow there were two things that struck me as unusual. Firstly, when I was shown an extensive list of vodkas to choose from and declined and asked for a soft drink instead, they brought me a list of beers. Secondly, the restaurant had what appeared to be two ATMs in it. One of them was indeed an ATM and I saw people withdraw cash from it. But the second was not an ATM but a reverse ATM. People would draw money from the ATM and then feed cash into the reverse ATM to pay their mobile phone bills, utility bills and to get virtual card numbers to use for online shopping. I thought that after the invention of smartphones, these would disappear. But I was wrong, they are back. In America.ShareA Tale of Two CitiesHere’s how I paid for a meal in London restaurant recently. The waiter brought a POS terminal over to my table and entered the total on the bill (which included a service charge of 15%) and then I put my hand over the terminal and paid using the contactless ring on my right hand. I could see the transaction notification show up on my iPhone within a couple of seconds.Subscribe nowHere’s how I paid for a meal in a New York restaurant recently. The waiter brought the bill to my table. I got a credit card out of my…Let's Put the Future Behind Us