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Read the text and match the definitions with the correct terms:

For the past 3,000 years, currency has been associated with money. Everyday transactions featured creased paper

or clinking pieces of metal, from making food purchases to paying restaurant bills.

The first government that officially delivered paper money was the French colonial government of Canada.

During the 17th century, another payment method appeared: cheques. They became quite popular in England,

and they came in the form of handwritten documents that were bearing the signature and seal of the issuing bank.

But since the United Kingdom introduced the first credit card in 1966, everything has changed in Europe.

The next stepping stone happened with the development of the Internet. It is believed that the first online payment took place on the Pizza Hut website in 1994, when people were allowed to order pizza online. On the other hand, in 1997, Coca-Cola was the first to introduce mobile payment, when people had the opportunity to pay for their drinks by sending text messages from their phones. In 1998, PayPal, the first e-wallet, was introduced to the globe as a result of the

increasing number of people who were willing to spend time online and even make purchases.

Bitcoin was another big invention of the 2010s, even though it was first introduced in 2008 when an unknown

author under Satoshi Nakamoto’s pseudonym came up with the idea. This was the year when cryptocurrency

started to become very popular. There are now a wide variety of alternative cryptocurrencies.

The arrival of smartphones changed shoppers’ behaviour; they have become more willing to pay online for the goods they want. As e-commerce started to grow rapidly, so did new alternative payment methods that are now available: PayPal, digital wallet systems, contactless payments by electronic card or smartphone, electronic bills and banking, and many others. The alternative payment methods facilitate e-commerce and give everyone the possibility to buy things from the comfort of their home using their favourite payment method.

Countries are eliminating cash at varying rates. In Sweden, the average number of cash transactions per person has decreased by 80% in the past ten years. In Norway, only 6% of total purchases are made in cash. The government of Singapore is strongly promoting a cashless society. Going cashless is very important, and the prime minister has made it a national priority since 2017. Thanks to their vast populations, China and India are in the lead and show the highest levels of mobile payment volume.

Cash is already on the point of becoming obsolete in some rich economies.

Marked by creases or wrinkles after being folded

An economical concept where financial transactions are executed in an electronic format rather than using cash.

A type of electronic card which is used for transactions made online through a computer or a smartphone;

The money that is used in a particular country

A cryptographic-secured digital or virtual currency based on a network distributed across a large number of computers;

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