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This article was written by Steve Diacono, intern at Calamatta Cuschieri
As a society, we have come a long way from bartering livestock and calculating price/value of an object/service with a scale. Even here in Malta, one may say that technology has finally been embraced by the majority of its inhabitants, with the introduction of smart bus cards, electronic passports and E.I.D’s and of course high speed internet connections. This introduction of technology and connectivity is a relatively new area of business, especially in Malta, and how it affects the business world in which it operates is nothing short of astounding.
Technology in business and finance have meant different things over the years, however quite recently the market has changed quite radically, due to the impact that technology has had. For instance if one so wished to finance a new, revolutionary idea, one could simply set up a page on a crowd funding site, thus eliminating the need for a single, large investor.
Another area of note is that of financial markets, where the whole concept of banking has changed for the better, and continues to improve; creating new competitors and increasing security. To date, if one so wished to purchase an item in a store, he/she may do so by using one of the many nfc, enabled payment services such as apple pay and google wallet to name a few. Even though this is the case in most countries one must also point out that here in Malta we have yet to see such technologies take off, however we are not that far off; examples of this are the recent capabilities for one to access his/her banking information via an app in a manner that requires little security checks, and the recent card readers that have been upgraded with an nfc reader.
It is also important to note that in small areas of America, innovators have gone a step beyond with changing the whole concept of personal banking. Were with new technologies being introduced, one is able to create digital cards that hold serval banking cards, and check one’s personal banking information with a simple biometric scan. Truly, the action of daily transactions has changed for the better and yet, we have only just begun.
With great technological achievements however, come great threats. Even with the best of security technology implemented, if information is linked to the internet, it may always be compromised. In saying so, the fear of man limits the progress of technology.
On the other hand, is all this technological advancement really necessary in the current business world? Must a company embrace 100mbps internet speeds, the latest b
biometric security checks, or the latest and greatest transaction recognition software and hardware?
In all honesty there is no real answer, technology is a funny thing; it may be necessary for some to adopt partly, fully or not at all. Your average man on the street selling his wares might not need to adopt latest tech, and in countries such as Malta, doing so might not even positively affect his/her sales, rendering the adoption of tech questionable at best; however change is coming whether we like it or not, therefore; familiarising oneself with the latest in tech is slowly becoming a must for any businessman refusing to remain lost in the dust of others.
Good day and happy trading!
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