Stop, listen, tap

In the latest step towards eradicating cash entirely, London mayor Sadiq Khan, iZettle and the Busk for London organization plan to roll out contactless card readers to buskers and street performers throughout the capital after a successful trial.

For those who never carry anything other than their phone and maybe a few payment cards, this will be welcome news. On the occasion a musician stops you in your tracks, no longer do you have to shy away with a helpless shrug – finally, the solution we’ve all been waiting for!

OK fine, maybe it’s not a problem you’ve often thought twice about – but it does indicate the beginning of the end for one of the final outlets for those stray coppers. With iZettle already transforming payments for small independent stores and market stalls, and other typically cash-only payment systems increasingly being replaced, this marks a new level of cashless-ness.

The question this immediately triggers is, what about other donations? In China, it’s already commonplace to see homeless people using QR codes to ask for money. Admittedly this is due to the dominance of WeChat and Alipay across the country, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see other contactless donation methods hitting the UK in the future.