The baseline future scenario, Future of Transactions Research, Heather Schlegel.
Please credit if used: Schlegel, Heather. "Dinner with Friends, circa2020" September 2010.
Dinner with Friends, circa 2020
The waitress has just left the check on the table. You and your 5 colleagues are still sipping the red wine and engaged in the conversations after dinner. Gradually wallets and mobile phones are pulled out and someone picks up the check. In addition to the enumerated dishes, drinks and accompanying prices, is a symbol that looks between a 3D barcode and QR code. Someone pulls a $20 bill out of his wallet to make a joke, and quickly replaces it. One by one the bill is passed around the table. Individuals and couples take turns scanning the code, or entering in the numbers into their mobile device, which has been actively as a mobile wallet and has payment functionality. One person pulls out something that looks like a credit card. Fingers tap on several dark squares, which light up when the code is activated. The card is waved over the bill (it is an intelligent cheque) and charged the remaining balance.
Below the restaurant charges is a tip note. The waitress prefers her tips in Linden dollars or transferable frequent flyer miles. There is some discussion with the diners as the appropriate amount. One couple decides to give frequent flyer miles, while another leaves a few linden dollars as a tip (along with his avatar name). The dinner party finishes their wine, while the waitress collects the check and types the check number into the restaurant payment system. All transactions have been complete – including her tip, which transfers into her linked accounts. By the end of the night, she’s hoping to get enough miles to visit her best friend in Vegas this weekend. But if not, she’s got a wad of Linden dollars, and a new inworld avatar to check out.
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