1. The title of the article is «What’s the best way to pay when traveling abroad?

»
2. The author of the article is Christopher Elliott. It was published in the American daily
newspaper which is called «The Washington Post» on the 9th of March, 2022.
3. The purpose of the article is to ask how best to pay for something when we travel abroad. This
article describes in detail the method of cashless payment and contactless payment system,
which have become widespread all over the world. The author examines the events that have
contributed to a faster transition of cashless payment. The pandemic has played a big role in this.
The article contains a lot of comments from various people who are directly related to the
business area.
4. The author begins by telling readers that the percentage of businesses that stopped accepting
cash during the pandemic increased from 8 to 32 percent. Speaking of the Covid-19, it should be
mentioned that one of the reasons for replacing the payment method was that merchants were
afraid that cash was spreading germs.
Before the pandemic, travelers had at least two credit cards and relied on an ATM to withdraw
cash. But over time, credit cards have gradually given way to more efficient payment methods
for travelers. Further, the author comes to the conclusion that the popularity of contactless
payments based on smartphones is growing, and currently they are accepted in most tourist
destinations.
Speaking about this payment method, the author gives examples of such payments based on the
stories of other people. It can be ApplePay on iPhone, PayPal, Venmo, which are undoubtedly
convenient for travelers. Also, some people prefer to turn to cryptocurrencies, since when
exchanging currencies, you can avoid fees and conversion. Examples of such currencies are
bitcoins and ether.
The author also demonstrates the opposite point of view on this topic. While abroad, people may
face scammers who steal confidential data and install viruses using QR codes.
In conclusion, the author gives some recommendations to avoid troubles with contactless
payment. First of all, travelers should have a backup payment source in case the smartphone is
stolen or lost. Also, people should check reviews about the payment systems that they use.
In the course of the author's reasoning, it was revealed that contactless payments, QR codes and
the convenience of mobile devices have forever changed the ways of paying for goods.
This article seemed to me quite interesting. In the modern world, people spend most of their time
on their phones, so I think that for our convenience, the contactless payment method is the best
invention of the 21st century.