Adrean Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 No more loose pocket change? With electronic payment solutions like NFC paving the way for cashless wallets, it's understandable that some people have grown sick of paying with paper money only to get fistfuls of pocket change in return. Canada just recently announced plans to do away with the penny, as keeping the small denomination in circulation is becoming too costly to justify its use. However, it seems Canada isn't planning on stopping at eradicating the penny. According to the latest news reports the Royal Canadian Mint is hoping to digitize money with a new system called MintChip. The Royal Canadian Mint believes that currency needs to change and adapt to fit today's digital economy. As such, it has invited software developers to make digital payment applications using MintChip, an R&D phase technology that will only be available to challenge participants. The Mint is aiming for 'a whole new breed of transactions that are smaller, faster, and virtually everywhere.' MintChip would require shoppers to load value onto a smartphone, USB stick, computer, tablet, cloud or other device and use that to pay instead of real currency. The idea is that you would be able to use MintChip online and in stores (or even to pay someone back) for tiny transactions (think buying a song, news article, or in-game purchases) without giving any of your personal info to anyone. Registration for the MintChip challenge is closed due to a high volume of interest, but the person who produces the best app will get 10 oz of gold (or one gold wafer, .9999 purity), which is equal to $17,000. Second prize is 6 oz of gold (or one gold wafer and five gold Maple Leaf coins, 1 oz each, all .9999 purity), which is equal to $10,200, and third prize is 3 oz of gold (one gold wafer and two gold Maple Leaf coins, 1 oz each, all .9999 purity), equal to $5,100. The Mint will be giving five additional prizes, equal in value to third prize, for categories like Best P2P App, and Popular Choice. For more information on prizes, hit up the MintChip page here. :view:Original Article: Tom's Guide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digimon Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 bitcoins has already done this so your late Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 bitcoins has already done this so your late try going into a store and paying with them. i think that's what the point is here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeRyde Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Another waste of my tax dollars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digimon Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Another waste of my tax dollars...hardley a waste if its succesfull in theory it be a lot more profitable then printing and or minting coins (pure profit from producing this new money plus if Canada is lucky enough they may be able to become a reserve currency and displace the dollar in theory which would be priceless for the Canadian economy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 yes, but if its successful. i think its going to take a few generations for that to come into reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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