Mondex, NatWest's electronic cash card
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Banking and telecommunications are coming together in NatWest's Mondex, an electronic cash card to be tried out in Swindon next year. It is being developed with BT's help.
Mondex is a smart plastic card. It stores 'cash' as information on a computer chip, like a sophisticated telephone card. The cash is issued by a bank to the customer's card, from a machine in a branch or through a modified telephone. It can also be paid back again. To check how much is on the card, a customer reads it with a device on a key ring.
Customers can transfer their cash balance from the card into a shop's electronic till or use it to make payments over the phone. Cash payments between individuals are made using a wallet-sized computer that transfers cash from one chip to another.
The system has complex electronic 'locks' claimed to make it safer to carry than banknotes. And cash can be drawn over a telephone from a customer's bank into the card in five currencies, anywhere in the world.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments