"Contactless payment" in the corona days
The effects of the coronavirus, which has come to the agenda with the increasing number of cases in the world and in our country, are also discussed in commercial life. Stating that in order to reduce the risk of the spread of the epidemic, experts point out that the use of digital technologies such as contactless payments may increase in this period.
Prof. Dr. Serhat Özekes, Lecturer at Üsküdar University Computer Engineering Department, also drew attention to the economic and commercial effects of the coronavirus, which has turned into a global epidemic.
Banknotes and coins can be moved away
Prof. Dr. Serhat Özekes stated that a number of measures have been taken to reduce the risk of the spread of the disease and said: "Central banks in China, South Korea and the United States decided to "quarantine" potentially contaminated cash upon the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19). This raised the question "can paper money spread the disease?". The accompanying question was "is it finally time to go cashless?". It has been known for some time that digital payment companies, the financial world and government policy makers have been trying to move away from banknotes and coins in the name of convenience and cost. The measures taken to reduce the risk of the spread of the disease seem to accelerate these efforts."
Contactless payment was proposed as a method
Noting that the World Health Organization also brought contactless payment methods to the agenda in this process, Prof. Dr. Serhat Özekes made the following evaluations:
"Lihui Li, the former president of China's state bank, argued that due to the pandemic, the Chinese central bank should accelerate the launch of the DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment) digital currency, known as a digital version of China's national currency, the Yuan, and use it instead of physical cash. Then last week, in response to a question about whether the currency could spread the coronavirus, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) was quoted in the media as saying that "it is a good idea to use contactless payment methods as much as possible."
Popular shopping methods are highly preferred
Prof. Dr. Serhat Özekes stated that shopping with online ordering channels has become popular in recent days and said, "When contactless payment methods that will reduce the risk of spreading viruses are considered; credit cards, bank transfers, electronic wallets and blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, which are famous for their digital value transfer methods, come to mind. It is reported by health experts that credit cards, which are the most widely used payment method after paper money, have the potential to spread viruses at least as much as paper money due to their materials if they are passed from hand to hand and used by entering a password through the panel. Shopping through online ordering channels, choosing web-based secure credit card payment methods and having the order delivered to our doorstep is a popular shopping method in our country these days when many companies prefer to work from home."
Mobile applications are also preferred
Prof. Dr. Serhat Özekes said: "Another method widely used in technologically developed countries is to make purchases through mobile wallet applications such as Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, Android Pay or Apple Pay, which can be used through mobile devices. One of the artificial intelligence technologies that we have started to see in many areas of our lives is the face recognition-based payment method. Face recognition technologies, which learn with deep learning methods using big data, also defined as the new currency, are no longer only used to unlock our cell phone screens or track potential criminals in the community. Some purchases in technologically advanced countries can also be made by smiling at the camera thanks to this technology."
Banknote use questioned
Prof. Dr. Serhat Özekes pointed out that health experts state that reducing interaction with people and keeping hands away from the eyes, mouth and nose when touching unclean surfaces such as paper and coins will reduce the likelihood of getting sick. Prof. Dr. Serhat Özekes said: "In these corona days, the long-standing studies on digital currencies and electronic payment methods have been on the agenda again and the lifespan of banknote money has been questioned again. In our country, the use of banknotes and credit cards on the one hand and credit card-based online payment methods on the other hand have been common. It is possible to see this period when both methods were used together as a transitional phase. Considering the indispensability of online payments in our shopping even today, it seems very close that facial recognition-based payments and digital currencies will become widespread in our daily lives. It seems that after the coronavirus epidemic, the world will not remain the world we know in many ways and many of our habits will be history."