The cash register rings its last sale - Cashless society just around the corner

Just another blow to our freedom and by the looks of it, there wont be much we can do.
Someone is going to make billions out of transaction fees and ultimately we are the ones bearing the burden.
Also, what better way to track people?
I can think of many abuses of this system, tracking is one, targeting advertisements is another and I'm sure there are many others.

March 22 2013

The cash register rings its last sale.

Ka-ching! The cash register may be on its final sale. Stores across the U.S. are ditching the old-fashioned, clunky machines and having salespeople—and even shoppers themselves—ring up sales on smartphones and tablet computers.



"The traditional cash register is heading toward obsolescence," said Danielle Vitale, chief operating officer of Barneys New York. That the cash register is getting the boot is no surprise. The writing has been on the wall for a long time for the iconic machine, which was created in the late 1800s. The register was essential in nearly every retail location by 1915, but it now seems outdated in a world in which smartphones and tablets increasingly are replacing everything from books to ATMs to cameras. Stores like smartphones and tablets because they take up less floor space than registers and free up cashiers to help customers instead of being tethered to one spot. They also are cheaper: For instance, Apple Inc.'s iPads with accessories like credit card readers can cost a store $1,500, compared with $4,000 for a register. And Americans increasingly want the same speedy service in physical stores that they get from shopping online

Read more at: [link to phys.org]