War On Cash Escalates: Japan Starts Testing Fingerprints As "Currency"

www.zerohedge.com

The war on cash just got serious, and of course, it is the extreme policy experimenters of Japan that are pushing the boundaries. Having dived headlong into negative interest rates, Japanee policymakers recognize full well the historical reaction of "hording cash" will not 'create' the nirvana of 2% inflation and break the 'deflation mindset' that they so long have waited for. So, following in the footsteps of Venezuela, as Japan News reports, starting this summer, the government will test a system which will enable people to buy things at stores using only their fingerprints - thus enabling full monitoring (and inevitable control) of spending (or saving).

The government hopes to increase the number of foreign tourists by using the system to prevent crime and relieve users from the necessity of carrying cash or credit cards.

The experiment will have inbound tourists register their fingerprints and other data, such as credit card information, at airports and elsewhere.

Tourists would then be able to conduct tax exemption procedures and make purchases after verifying their identities by placing two fingers on special devices installed at stores.

...

The government plans to gradually expand the experiment by next spring, to cover areas including tourist sites in the Tohoku region and urban districts in Nagoya.

It hopes to realize the system throughout the country, including Tokyo, by 2020.

...

Data concerning how and where foreign tourists use the system will be managed by a consultative body led by the government, after the data is converted to anonymous big data.

After analyzing tourists’ movements and their spending habits, the data is expected to be utilized to devise policies on tourism and management strategies for the tourism industry.

However, there are concerns that tourists will be uneasy about providing personal information such as fingerprints. The experiment will examine issues including how to protect one’s privacy and information management.

And finally, the system has already begun use in one bank's ATM systems...

By the end of this month at the earliest, Tokyo-based Aeon Bank will become the first bank in Japan to test a system in which customers will be able to withdraw cash from automatic teller machines using only fingerprints for identification and omitting the use of cash cards.

“The system is also superior in the area of security, such as preventing people from impersonating our customers,” an official from the bank said.

While the idea of fingerprint ID-ing authorization makes perfect sense from a security perspective, the requirement of fingerprinting an entire nation (or those who want to spend or retrieve cash) is yet one more step towards the totalitarian control of the final step in the central planners' arsenal - your consumption habits.

on.cc東網專訊
 
【on.cc東網專訊】 日本將於2020年舉辦東京奧運會及殘奧會，為增加旅客人數，日本政府決定引入指紋系統，取代現金及信用卡，並將於今夏試行。當局期望計劃能夠為旅客帶來 方便，從而吸引4000萬人在奧運會期間到訪，而旅客屆時不再需要擔心錢財被盜。

計劃是透過遊客的指紋，讀取他們的信用卡及個人身份資料，令他們在付款或核對身份時更為方便。日本傳媒報道，目前有300間紀念品商鋪、餐廳、酒店等參與計劃，它們全部位於日本的旅客熱門地點。政府亦打算於明年春天，將試行計劃擴展至更多地區及商鋪。

當局預期，在2020年東京奧運會及殘奧會來臨之前，東京市內將全面引入指紋系統。旅客付費時只需把兩隻手指放在掃瞄器上，就能核對身份及完成交易，省卻使用信用卡或現金的麻煩。同時，政府會收集旅客的消費數據，了解他們的購物習慣。