144,581 research outputs found

    Exploring the Design of Pay-Per-Use Objects in the Construction Domain

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    Equipment used in the construction domain is often hired in order to reduce cost and maintenance overhead. The cost of hire is dependent on the time period involved and does not take into account the actual use equipment has received. This paper presents our initial investigation into how physical objects augmented with sensing and communication technologies can measure use in order to enable new pay-per-use payment models for equipment hire. We also explore user interaction with pay-per-use objects via mobile devices. The user interactions that take place within our prototype scenario range from simple information access to transactions involving multiple users. This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a prototype pay-per-use system motivated by a real world equipment hire scenario. We also provide insights into the various challenges introduced by supporting a pay-per-use model, including data storage and data security in addition to user interaction issues

    Exploring UK consumer perceptions of mobile payments using smart phones and contactless consumer devices through an extended Technology Adoption Model.

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    Widespread adoption of mobile payments has not taken place despite a decade of trials in various countries based upon a mobile phone handset that does not have the technology capabilities of today’s smart phones. However, significant technology developments have led to widespread consumer adoption of smart phones and other devices that may now provide the foundation for wider consumer adoption of mobile payments. Understanding UK consumer cultural perceptions on the new phenomenon is one of the first steps to influencing purchase behaviour. This thesis is based upon a post-positivist philosophy and a social constructionist ontology that explores UK consumer perceptions of mobile payments through human cognitive and affective responses of consumer payment behaviour as these influence attitude that leads to adoption. However, UK consumer interest in mobile payments on its own is unlikely to be enough to change payment behaviour, although meeting specific payment needs can motivate consumers to amend their payment behaviour that can lead to widespread adoption. Inductive empirical research is used to explore UK consumer perceptions of mobile payments through sequential mixed methods. A questionnaire is used as the 1st research instrument with closed questions that explore various aspects of consumer interest in the mobile payments phenomenon. The key themes identified from the numerical analysis of the questionnaire data are used to guide the semi-structured interviews. Content analysis is then undertaken on the qualitative interview data from which new knowledge on consumer perceptions of mobile payments is identified. Analysis of the empirical data suggests that UK consumers have significant technology and security concerns which negatively affect consumer interest. Despite these concerns, UK consumers demonstrate interest in the mobile payments phenomenon when perceived usefulness benefits are identified. The perceived usefulness positively influences attitude that overcomes perceived risks which can lead to amended consumer payment behaviour and widespread adoption. In addition, UK consumers have a significant lack of trust towards unknown organisations as well as new market entrants although there is an increased level of trust in mobile payments provided by UK banks as well as other established organisations. This research fills an important gap in existing literature on consumer payment behaviour as it explores UK consumer cultural perceptions of the mobile payments phenomenon using smart phones and contactless consumer devices; whereas earlier consumer payment research is based upon a mobile phone handset that does not have the technology capabilities of today’s smart phones and has an Asian and Nordic cultural focus. Furthermore, this research provides UK empirical evidence that refines and extends existing research through the use of sequential mixed methods whilst adding to the understanding of UK consumer attitudes related to UK payment instruments.Page, Stev

    Fighting Poverty, Profitably: Transforming the Economics of Payments to Build Sustainable, Inclusive Financial Systems

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    The Gates Foundation's Financial Services for the Poor program (FSP) believes that effective financial services are paramount in the fight against poverty. Nonetheless, today more than 2 billion people live outside the formal financial sector. Increasing their access to high quality, affordable financial services will accelerate the well-being of households, communities, and economies in the developing world. One of the most promising ways to deliver these financial services to the poor -- profitably and at scale -- is by using digital payment platforms.These are the conclusions we have reached as the result of extensive research in pursuit of one of the Foundation's primary missions: to give the world's poorest people the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty.FSP conducted this research because we believe that there is a gap in the fact base and understanding of how payment systems can extend digital services to low income consumers in developing markets. This is a complex topic, with fragmented information and a high degree of country-by-country variability. A complete view across the entire payment system has been missing, limiting how system providers, policy makers, and regulators (groups we refer to collectively as financial inclusion stakeholders) evaluate decisions and take actions. With a holistic view of the payment system, we believe that interventions can have higher impact, and stakeholders can better understand and address the ripple effects that changes to one part of the system can have. In this report, we focus on the economics of payment systems to understand how they can be transformed to serve poor people in a way that is profitable and sustainable in aggregate

    Incentive-compatible route coordination of crowdsourced resources

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    Technical ReportWith the recent trend in crowdsourcing, i.e., using the power of crowds to assist in satisfying demand, the pool of resources suitable for GeoPresen-ce-capable systems has expanded to include already roaming devices, such as mobile phones, and moving vehicles. We envision an environment, in which the motion of these crowdsourced mobile resources is coordinated, according to their preexisting schedules to satisfy geo-temporal demand on a mobility field. In this paper, we propose an incentive compatible route coordination mechanism for crowdsourced resources, in which participating mobile agents satisfy geo-temporal requests in return for monetary rewards. We define the Flexible Route Coordination (FRC) problem, in which an agent’s flexibility is exploited to maximize the coverage of a mobility field, with an objective to maximize the revenue collected from satisfied paying requests. Given that the FRC problem is NP-hard, we define an optimal algorithm to plan the route of a single agent on a graph with evolving labels, then we use that algorithm to define a 1-approximation algorithm to solve the 2 problem in its general model, with multiple agents. Moreover, we define an incentive compatible, rational, and cash-positive payment mechanism, which guarantees that an agent’s truthfulness about its flexibility is an ex-post Nash equilibrium strategy. Finally, we analyze the proposed mechanisms theoretically, and evaluate their performance experimentally using real mobility traces from urban environments

    The Evolution of Currency: Cash to Cryptos to Sovereign Digital Currencies

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    Fighting Multiple Tax Havens

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    This paper develops a competition theory framework that evaluates an important aspect of the OECD’s Harmful Tax Practices Initiative against tax havens. We show that the sequential nature of the process is harmful and more costly than a “big bang” multilateral agreement. The sequentiality may even prevent the process from being completed successfully. Closing down a subset of tax havens reduces competition among the havens that remain active. This makes their “tax haven business” more profitable and shifts a larger share of rents to these remaining tax havens, making them more reluctant to give up their “tax haven business”. Moreover, the outcome of this process, reducing the number of tax havens, but not eliminating them altogether, may reduce welfare in the OECD

    The effect of financial technology on money demand : evidence from selected African states

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    Purpose: The study sought to test the effect of financial technology on money demand in selected African states. The study drew from the fact that there is significant latent demand for digital payments in many markets of sub-Saharan Africa, and widespread consumer acceptance of mobile-communications technology is highly encouraging. The study sought to examine the effect of technology, among other things, on money demand. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used panel data and a GMM panel technique to analyse the study’s findings. Findings: Results showed that all variables that captured financial technology have a negative effect with money demand (MD). Both Mobile Subscriptions (MS) and ATM (Automated Teller Machines) have a negative relationship with money demand (MD). Practical implications: Based on the results obtained in this study, the study recommended that Central Banks need to monitor and predict the consequences of financial innovations. As African states proceed with reforms of its financial sector, the stability of the demand for money would have to be reexamined and instruments of the Central Bank modified to ensure an effective control of money demand. Originality/Value: A little has been done on the effect of technological developments on money demand in Africa. An understanding of the way technological developments may positively or negatively impact on money demand may guide Central banks in adopting and implementing appropriate monetary policies and actions.peer-reviewe

    Finnish consumers' expectations on developments and changes in payment habits. Survey in connection with the research project 'Finnish payment habits 2010'

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    The Bank of Finland’s Finnish Payment Habits 2010 project predicts that Finnish payment habits will face substantial changes. The causes for these changes include: the standardisation and integration of European payment systems, development of payment services-related legislation and regulation at EU level, changes in payment services-related cost factors and pricing, and new opportunities offered by technological advances. The last few years have seen a surge in new payment instruments and services. Increasing reliance on information and communication technology is characteristic to the development of these payment instruments, the vast majority of which have however failed to entice consumers. To increase our understanding of changes in payment patterns, this report analyses consumer needs, tastes and payment habits as new payment systems are adopted. Research data was collected in September 2005 using a mail-survey covering the central payment methods and addressed to 2,000 randomly-sampled Finnish consumers. According to our findings, security and trustworthiness are the most important characteristics of any new payment instrument. Other essential characteristics are the ability to produce good transaction-related information, compatibility with shopping and payment habits, accessibility, ease of use, time and cost savings, as well as time and place independence. New payment instruments – electronic billing and paying for shopping by mobile phone – are not likely to supersede conventional payment methods by 2010 when judged by the aforementioned characteristics: Trust and cost factors do not separate consumers well-disposed towards electronic bills and mobile payments from those set against these payment methods. A relatively restricted group of differentiating factors was found. Ease of use is a common differentiating factor for both electronic bills and mobile payments adoption. Additionally, accessibility is a differentiating characteristic in mobile payments adoption.payment habits; payment services to consumers; consumer behaviour; diffusion of innovations; theory of planned behaviour (TPB)
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