Paper receipts to go online.

[davieG]

BBC

Businesses are aiming to use new technology to free wallets and purses from bulging with paper receipts.

Cash registers began giving out receipts at the end of the 19th Century.

But in the coming weeks a new scheme will be launched that will allow some consumers to store their receipts from a selection of shops online.

Organisers believe that this should make it easier to claim refunds, and prevent disputes at the till.

"We already read books on tablet computers or phones," said Andrew Carroll, of Paperless Receipts, the company which is behind the launch.

"So it is a natural progression that receipts will be outdated, and then phased out."

However, the move to digital will also open the possibility of marketing products to consumers.

Small start

Initially, 75 small shops in the West End of London will be part of the scheme, although big retailers like the furniture chain DFS are in the process of joining up.

Customers hand over a plastic card - often a retailer's loyalty card - or their smartphone, which is swiped at the till.

Within seconds they can go on a website, and see details of their purchase.

Those details will be stored "in the cloud", in other words independently of the customer's own computer or phone, to offer greater protection.

The retailer keeps a similar record.

In theory, that should remove the possibility of any disputes about the date of a purchase, should a customer subsequently want a refund.

more - http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-19599978

[Guest]

Sounds like a first world problem in the making.

[Orkneyfox]

Big Brother! Yet another step to the identity society, they will better know what you buy and where. That is the main point of loyalty cards. Eventually if you aren't on this system you won't be allowed to buy anything at all and they will have got us under control.

[Guest]

Big Brother! Yet another step to the identity society, they will better know what you buy and where. That is the main point of loyalty cards. Eventually if you aren't on this system you won't be allowed to buy anything at all and they will have got us under control.

There'll always be the rebel shops

[Happy Fox]

Paper receipts who actually keeps them? Don't you usually discard them after about 2 weeks or so or a purchase that is quite richly.

I suppose better way instead of online is to recycle them

[davieG]

Big Brother! Yet another step to the identity society, they will better know what you buy and where. That is the main point of loyalty cards. Eventually if you aren't on this system you won't be allowed to buy anything at all and they will have got us under control.

Can't they get that from you debit/credit card?

[Orkneyfox]

Yes but we still have the option of cash, except at some hotel chains who won't take cash unless you show I.D

http://www.no2id.net/ This site has a lot of information about the dangers.

[davieG]

Yes but we still ahve the option of cash, except at some hotel chains who won't take cash unless you show I.D

But for how long?

[Webbo]

The amount of paper I get from the merchants I use is ridiculous. An A4 sheet of paper when I buy paint on account and then they send me an invoice in the post. I'd much rather they just emailed me the invoice so I could keep a record on my computer.

[Guest]

move on guys.

[Orkneyfox]

move on guys.

From the man with the hooded face on his avatar!

[MooseBreath]

I'm sure paying through your mobile phone will come to the UK eventually. It would be good if you could go to a self scanner, swipe your goods, swipe your phone and then have the receipt stored in your phone. Then you could have apps which analyse the receipts and produce pretty charts and shit which tell you where you've spent your money and on what.

[Houdini Logic]

No longer stuck in a queue while some disabled of a cashier spends 5 minutes trying to change a till roll. Count me in

[Orkneyfox]

I'm sure paying through your mobile phone will come to the UK eventually. It would be good if you could go to a self scanner, swipe your goods, swipe your phone and then have the receipt stored in your phone. Then you could have apps which analyse the receipts and produce pretty charts and shit which tell you where you've spent your money and on what.

You have fallen into their trap!

[Guest]

I'm sure paying through your mobile phone will come to the UK eventually. It would be good if you could go to a self scanner, swipe your goods, swipe your phone and then have the receipt stored in your phone. Then you could have apps which analyse the receipts and produce pretty charts and shit which tell you where you've spent your money and on what.

why bother with a phone that needs chraging. Eyeball scan should be enough. eyeball scan everyone - no govt payout without an eyeball scan.

[Captain...]

why bother with a phone that needs chraging. Eyeball scan should be enough. eyeball scan everyone - no govt payout without an eyeball scan.

Barcode tattooed on your wrist.

In all seriousness though, it wouldn't be difficult to attach an e-mail address to a credit or debit card, and all receipts are sent these, or are visible on your internet banking, just click on a transaction on your statement and get the digital receipt, sounds like a great idea to me.

[Alexikokopops]

The amount of paper that is wasted on receipts is ridiculous. The more me move to a "paperless" world the better I say, for sustainability reasons alone. I also think it should be optional whether you get a receipt or not. I don't need one when I'm buying a pot of soup for lunch yet the supermarkets all print them automatically. WASTE

[m00nie]

I'm sure paying through your mobile phone will come to the UK eventually. It would be good if you could go to a self scanner, swipe your goods, swipe your phone and then have the receipt stored in your phone. Then you could have apps which analyse the receipts and produce pretty charts and shit which tell you where you've spent your money and on what.

its here already isnt it.. seen an advert where a phone is used on a table to pay.

can see fraud figures rising for a while whilst it gets sorted. they mastered the signatures, they cloned chip and pin, cant see a mobile having much security.

[m00nie]

with regards to the original post, for business invoiced etc as someone mentioned earlier this may work but surely for every day shopping it could be worse, your always told to check your change before you leave etc so does this mean going online before you leave to check every thing matches

[Alexikokopops]

with regards to the original post, for business invoiced etc as someone mentioned earlier this may work but surely for every day shopping it could be worse, your always told to check your change before you leave etc so does this mean going online before you leave to check every thing matches

I can honestly say I've never used a receipt to check change, and strangely it has never crossed my mind. I've always thought of receipts as proof of purchase for card and when I pay in cash I work out what change I'm owed while they're fannying around with the till.

This is more just an observation really

[MPH]

This is something that some stores have been doing over here in the states for some while. Although they have it tied into using their points card. Its all about getting your details, basically. if you want an e-receipt as they call it, then they usually need an email address and so , yes, im 100% sure they are tracking what products are popular and by whom... more consumer appropriate coupons arriving in your email box as a resilt of it.. Although why people would get their knickers in a twist about the whole big brother idea to me personally is laughable.

OMG! the government / Asda know I eat cornflakes!!!! must not let them know about the semi skimmed milk too!!!

[m00nie]

This is something that some stores have been doing over here in the states for some while. Although they have it tied into using their points card. Its all about getting your details, basically. if you want an e-receipt as they call it, then they usually need an email address and so , yes, im 100% sure they are tracking what products are popular and by whom... more consumer appropriate coupons arriving in your email box as a resilt of it.. Although why people would get their knickers in a twist about the whole big brother idea to me personally is laughable.

OMG! the government / Asda know I eat cornflakes!!!! must not let them know about the semi skimmed milk too!!!

its a bit more than what you eat though, they have what you eat but also, how much you spend, where you spend it, when you spend it.they can build a profile on you and what kind of person you are, dont they also then even use data to get information for areas etc.

[MPH]

its a bit more than what you eat though, they have what you eat but also, how much you spend, where you spend it, when you spend it.they can build a profile on you and what kind of person you are, dont they also then even use data to get information for areas etc.

Ah so the government will know i spent 50 quid on cornflakes so far this year... and that i usually buy it in asda on a tuesday morning. They will probably get MI6 onto me now with this info...

[21st Century Fox]

why bother with a phone that needs chraging. Eyeball scan should be enough. eyeball scan everyone - no govt payout without an eyeball scan.

Have you not seen Demolition Man!

[Danizen]

This company is going to make an outrageous amount of money. The owner will end up richer than Mark Zuckerberg.

I wish I'd thought of this.