首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Another milestone on the journey towards digital cash was passed on November 13th. That date marked the emergence from beta-test
Another milestone on the journey towards digital cash was passed on November 13th. That date marked the emergence from beta-test
admin
2015-10-21
35
问题
Another milestone on the journey towards digital cash was passed on November 13th. That date marked the emergence from beta-testing in America of V. me, a "digital wallet" that holds multiple payment cards in a virtual repository. Instead of providing their personal details and card numbers to pay for stuff online, customers just enter a username and a password. The service is provided by Visa, a giant card-payment network whose headquarters is in the heart of Silicon Valley, close to a host of technology firms which would love to get their hands on a chunk of the global payments business.
In the short term new technology is actually boosting usage of plastic. Smartphone apps often require users to enter their card details to pay for services. Firms such as Square and PayPal have developed tiny card readers that plug into smartphones and allow small traders using their software to accept payments cheaply. Ed McLaughlin, who oversees emerging payments technologies at MasterCard, reckons such developments have added 1. 2m new businesses over the past 12 months to the card firms’ list of merchants.
But even if plastic cards eventually go the way of vinyl records, card networks should still prosper because they too are investing heavily in new technology and have several built-in advantages. Visa is betting its member banks can help it to narrow the gap with rivals like PayPal, for instance, which is part of eBay and has grown to 117m active users thanks in part to its use on the auction site. Over 50 financial institutions are supporting the launch of V. me, which accepts non-Visa cards in its wallet, too. MasterCard and others are also touting digital wallets, some of which can hold digital coupons and tickets as well as card details.
Before long all of these wallets are likely to end up on mobile phones, which can be used to buy things in stores and other places. This is where firms such as Square, which has developed its own elegant and easy-to-use mobile wallet, and Google have been focusing plenty of energy. Jennifer Schulz, Visa’s global head of e-commerce, predicts there will be a shake-out that leaves only a few wallet providers standing. Thanks to their trusted brands, big budgets and payments savvy, one or more card companies will be among them.
Card networks are also taking stakes in innovative firms to keep an eye on potentially disruptive technologies. Visa owns part of Square, which recently struck a deal with Starbucks to make its mobile-payment service available in 7,000 of the coffee chain’s outlets in America. Visa has also invested in Monitise, a mobile-banking specialist. American Express, for its part, has set up a $100m digital-commerce fund, one of whose investments is in iZettle, a Square-like firm based in Sweden.
So far few have tried to create new payments systems from scratch. Those that have toyed with the idea, such as ISIS, a consortium of telecoms companies in America, have concluded it is far too costly and painful to deal with regulators, set up anti-fraud systems and so forth. Fears about the security of new-fangled payment systems also play into the hands of established card firms.
Still, they cannot relax. Bryan Keane, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, points out that rival digital wallets could promote alternatives to credit and debit cards, including stored-value cards and direct bank-account-to-bank-account payments. Big retailers in America have clubbed together to create their own digital wallet and are likely to prompt users to choose the payment options that are cheapest for the chains, by offering them incentives like coupons.
Jack Dorsey, the boss of Square and a co-founder of Twitter, agrees that digital wallets will make the trade-offs between various payment options clearer to consumers and reckons this will force card networks to up their game. "They had a major innovation 60 years ago" he says, "and there have been very, very few innovations since. " Some in the payments world might quibble with that but one thing they can all agree on is that the spread of mobile payments will bring many more customers. MasterCard’s Mr. McLaughlin claims that 85% of commerce still involves cash and cheques. As mobile purchases take off, more of this activity will move online.
The biggest prize of all lies in emerging markets, where a lack of financial infrastructure is hastening the rise of phone-based payments systems such as M-Pesa, which serves Kenya and several other markets. Visa has snapped up Fundamo, which specialises in payment services for the unbanked and underbanked in emerging markets; MasterCard has set up a joint venture called Wanda with Telef6nica, a Spanish telecoms firm, which aims to boost mobile payments across Latin America. The payments world is changing fast but the card firms are not about to let rivals swipe their business.
Which of the following does NOT belong to the innovative firms?
选项
A、Square.
B、Visa.
C、iZettle.
D、Monitise.
答案
B
解析
细节题。根据第五段第一句可知,该段的主题是支付卡网络公司参股了许多技术创新型企业,该段第二、三句分别举例说明支付卡公司是如何参股技术创新型企业的,维萨拥有Square公司和Monitise公司的部分股权,说明维萨属于支付卡公司,而Square和Monitise是技术创新型企业,故[B]为正确答案,同时排除[A]和[D];通过该段第四句可知,iZettle公司与Square公司性质类似,也为技术创新型企业,故排除[C]。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/KTKO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
A、Bothwerewearingdarksweaters.B、Neitherwaswearingglasses.C、Bothwereaboutthesameage.D、Oneofthemwasmarkedbya
WhichofthefollowingisNOTtheinfluenceoftheinvestmenttowardsBankofAmerica?
TheJourneyofSelfImprovementI.PhasesofthejourneyofselfimprovementA.Thefirstphase:relyingon【B1】______,speakers
TheJourneyofSelfImprovementI.PhasesofthejourneyofselfimprovementA.Thefirstphase:relyingon【B1】______,speakers
MeaninginLiteratureInreadingliteraryworks,weareconcernedwiththe’meaning’ofoneliterarypieceoranother.Howev
MeaninginLiteratureInreadingliteraryworks,weareconcernedwiththe’meaning’ofoneliterarypieceoranother.Howev
Mycar’sgearleverdoesmorethandispensetransmissionrations.Itpanderstome.Itcajolesandbeckons.Itwearsoutitschr
Mycar’sgearleverdoesmorethandispensetransmissionrations.Itpanderstome.Itcajolesandbeckons.Itwearsoutitschr
随机试题
新生儿珍为中度贫血,血红蛋白(Hb)应是
发现艾滋病时,城镇应当发出报告的时间是发现乙类传染病病人时,农村应当发出报告的时间是
银翘散的功用是麻黄杏仁甘草石膏汤的功用是
检查避雷针时,应当检查()是否符合设计要求,当有变动时,应核查有否有设计变更文件。
企业员工的安全教育的形式主要包括()。
从被保险货物在最后目的地车站全部卸离车辆后起算。陆上货物运输险的索赔时效最多不超过()年。
某房地产开发项目计划年内分3期开盘,计划第1、2、3期的开盘价分别为5599元/平方米、5799元/平方米、6199元/平方米,该地区同类商品房当前的均价为5812元/平方米。该项目采取的定价策略是()。
请简要描述一下你在实习中遇到过的一个困难,并具体说明你是如何克服的。(2014年中国银行面试真题)
简述斯宾塞的教育思想。
共同富裕是中国特色社会主义的根本原则。党的十八大提出要坚持社会主义基本经济制度和分配制度,调整国民收入分配格局,具体要求是
最新回复
(
0
)