Slashdot Mirror
London Launches World's First Contactless Payment Scheme For Street Performers (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Here's a casualty of the cashless society you might not have previously thought of: the humble street performer. After all, if more of us are paying our way with smartphones and contactless cards, how can we give spare change to musicians on the subway? London has one solution: a new scheme that outfits performers with contactless payment terminals. The project was launched this weekend by the city's mayor, Sadiq Khan, and is a collaboration with Busk In London (a professional body for buskers) and the Swedish payments firm iZettle (which was bought this month by PayPal for $2.2 billion). A select few performers have been testing iZettle's contactless readers on the streets for the past few weeks, and Khan now says the scheme will be rolled out across London's 32 boroughs.
Now "Sorry, I don't carry cash" is no excuse. We can all donate to those unsung heroes of our society, people who do robot dances in the middle of the sidewalk.
And you don't have to get peed on to be tainted forever.
has ever been dumb enough to give money to a street performer?
Oh yeah, the same people who will happily charge 2 pounds...oops...decimal point...200 pounds to a random person on the street.
Not the crusty jugglers. Who's next? Homeless people?
The burden of Dick Van Dyke's atrocious accent.
London is being crushed by one violent knife attack after another, the murder rate is astronomical and rising rapidly - and not coincidentally, the city is almost universally known as Londonistan. The entire country is being overrun by Muslim extremists. And getting cashless payments to street bums is something they consider important?
People are already detached from social interaction. Do we really need this nonsense? How is the street performer going to look the person in the eye and thank them?
Great, yet another job where you can't just set up on your own, now you need accreditation and infrastructure to make a living.
What's next, EFTPOS for beggars?
...that some enterprising busker does not put the reader at waist height in a crowded area and gain hundreds of "taps" from unsuspecting passersby.
Now I don't have to risk touching the filthy beggars to make them go away with money. Can I get one on the end of a baton for maximum range? Perhaps on the end of a cane that also sprays delousing agent?
So their modest income is now trackable by the government, if not now, very soon. It’s only a matter of time until even the oldest profession in the world is monitored by governments for taxes due.
It feels weird saying this but street performers in China have had QR codes for both WeChat and Alipay for a while now. It's been around so long it isn't even an a novelty any more.
This won't solve anything. Very sad stuff.
I have seen a street performer with a QR code panel for payments.
Looks like a great way to do contactless pickpocketing?
Isn’t this the reason they exist?
#DeleteChrome
I thought one of the advantages of a cashless society was the minimization of street solicitation via restriction of payment opportunities.
Here's a casualty of the cashless society you might not have previously thought of: the humble street performer
No, I've totally thought about it... them and the bums. I have loads of cash on me but I refuse to give any of them a dime. Especially the ones who try to scam the "I need $15 for a room" No you don't... shelters are free. And the "I need $20 to get a train ticket." And they're there for weeks. You don't need no train ticket.
STOP ENABLING THE LEECHES
Or, get out of my chair!
100% digital cash is very useful for a dictatorship. Of course China is ahead.
Your ad here. Ask me how!
I guess either A: All street performers in the world suck or B: You're some kind of blinders-on type of asshole who boasts about being anti-patronage online for... standard slashdot asshole cred points - And it's not A.
China has even beggars accepting WeChat Pay for at least a year or two already.
In what way is this system “World’s First”?
why have a terminal that needs maintenance, can break down, cost money etc.. why not just use a QR sticker that linked to the performers bank account...
In India we can pay the taxi driver, street shops etc by just scanning the QR code displayed by them...
I think that's a sign of a woefully broken society. People aren't meant to (not) interact like this. This isn't healthy.
I don't respond to AC's.
In so-called "third world countries" ("emerging markets" in PCish), we call that, for some reason that currently escapes me, "Corruption".
While you do go to some effort to take your somewhat on target point too far, let me reply.
The WHOLE point of this is diversion.
The people who 'feel good' from the idea of the noble busker getting money are happy.
The people who are incensed at the local government putting its effort in to this are up in arms about this payment scheme, therefore diverting them from the things the local government would rather they did not focus on.
So, it is basically a win win for these people.
So yes, they consider it important, because it helps them stay in power doing what they want to do (most of which is kept carefully out of public view).
Ah, but it is not controlled, and more importantly tracked, by the local government (well, it is China, I'm sure they have back door access, but hey).
BTW, WeChat has spread a lot further than China, but not quite as commonly.
It is hard to see how people are thick enough to think that 'cashless society' is an advantage to them.
But people are always going out of their way to impress with their stupidity.
Who the hell is going to fish out a visa card, type a value into a reader, swipe / wave the card etc. instead of just tossing a coin in a guitar case?
These are the Muzzi-Wog pestilent Brit imports that rape white teens ? They get paid how by Soros Juuboi ??
Put these readers at toilets in central London (and other places) so I can use my contactless to relieve myself when I don't have coins on me. Oyser users may also appreciate it if they can use their card for this purpose too.
"Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
If Bitcoin were more widely adopted, it would be a simple (and cheap) matter for a street performer to tape or glue a printed QR code to a makeshift sign above the jar/hat/guitar case/etc so that those without cash can digitally transfer cryptocurrency to a waiting wallet.
The beggars and street bums in San Francisco already are equipped to take credit cards, but this will really step up their game. Thanks, tech industry!
Sounds great until the government decides they don't want the street performers and simply shuts it all down electronically. Or decides to take 90% of their money, or pays even more as a way to inspire more street performers.
These schemes put too much control in government hands. next thing you know they lock up anybody that says something not liked. Somebody like TOMMY ROBINSON.
Not one bit. I'm also a street performer (3 card monte) and I definitely only want cash.
For years, my standard response to the panhandlers infesting our downtown area has been, "Do you take debit?"
If this catches on, I'll have to revert to my former practice of politely asking them to fuck off.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
You don't owe anything for unsolicited performances. Otherwise performers would owe ME money for expending energy to move away from their noise.
So it a well-functioning public transport system (they will know where you went and when), and public health care system (they will know all about your body).
I guess that's also why American don't have those either.