I think it's the way of the future and a really interesting concept. We have machines that are swiped everywhere. Maybe I'll get one for my live shows - if we ever have any! In Hong Kong, people use cards to pay for everyday stuff all the time. Everyone has one. Buses, shops, the MTR (underground/metro) and even some taxis all use Octopus cards. Cards are used to buy stuff from newsagents/supermarkets (7/11 shops etc. as well). You can add cash easily and we can swipe pretty much anywhere to purchase stuff. Also true of credit cards. They can be swiped anywhere major. China uses vast amounts of cashless cards. I actually take coins out of my trousers and we keep them in a jar which we can take to a van to get converted (by weight) into notes. The $1000 HK note has virtually vanished as there was a run of fake notes in circulation a couple of years back and shops didn't want to accept them.

Interesting side note. The HK government is giving every one $5000 HK in electronic vouchers to help kick start the economy. The main route is Octopus Cards, Alipay etc. They've had to alter the cards so people can't convert the vouchers into cash and bank it. People in Hong Kong are big savers! Ironically, the supermarkets are owned by some of the richest people in the world and have not been affected by Covid issues and they'll get most of the benefit. The 1st round they gave $5000 cash which was better for the poor. ($5000 HK is about $650 US)


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