banking and online shopping (advantages)

Teschnology has had a vast affect on how people bank and shop.
The main example of this is the use of credit cards. People carry around credit cards instead of a lot of money. Each credit card is linked with the bank that the person saves their money with. To buy something a person puts their credit card into a machine in the shop. The machine then scans the magnetic strip on the back of the card to obtain information. The person enters their PIN (personal identification number). This results in the money being transfered from the person's bank account to the shop. This is advantgeous as it means that people do not have to carry around a lot of money and that the transactions happen very quickly.
 The PIN is required because if a card gets stolen the thief will not be able to use it to make a purchase that is paid for from some-one else's bank account. 

Another use of credit cards is that they enable people to get money out of ATMs (automated telling machines). This means that people can go to the bank and get money out whenever they need it. This is a lot quicker than what happened in the olden days when people had to go into a bank and get a person to get some money out of their account.

A lot of banking is done online now. This means it is possible for someone to manage their finances and bank details from home. This means that it is a lot easier for transactions to be made, without a person having to go into their bank branch.


Online shopping has been made possible because of technolgy. Before the invention of phones and the internet all business had to be done face to face. Now almost anything can be acquired via the internet.

There are websites that enable people to buy products either direct from a company or via a second company. (video of amazon)
These websites are useful because they enable people to buy products which are in good condition without having to leave their house. Some of these websites also offer delivery services for the product as well. This is useful as it means that heavy packages get delivereed to the person's door.

Another type of commercial websites are ones where people sell items to the general public.
(video of ebay)
This is useful as it means that items are being moved around and used by another person instead of thrown away as rubbish. Also it is possible for people to find rare purchases that could not be found in a shop.

Telecommunications have made it possible to phone a company and make a reservation. This is often used to book seats at restaurants. A person phones up and requests for a table to be reserved at a certain time on a certain date. This means that they will have a seat when they arrive and will not have to take the chance that there are no spare tables.