The Future Is Already Here - It's Just Not Evenly Distributed

The Future Is Already Here — It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed.

In this digitally advancing world, Just half of India’s population uses the internet, and many Indians resist the idea of scanning QR codes to pay for things. As a result, only about 100 million people in India use mobile-payment apps, compared with some 850 million in China—even though Google, through its Next Billion Users initiative, has invested hugely, along with other organisations, to improve India’s infrastructure and access. Certain developmental ecosystems create naturally different attitudes toward change, adoption, and newness. But, now is the time to accept change. Accept INNOVATION.

Old Yang is a beggar who lives in Beijing. He can usually be found just outside the Gu Lou Street subway stop in one of the city’s tourist districts, where for years he survived on loose change and spare bills from commuters. But life changed dramatically for him in 2015, when everyone in Beijing abruptly stopped carrying cash. Seemingly overnight, the entire Chinese population began to download apps such as WeChat Pay and Alipay and integrate mobile payment into their daily lives.

For Old Yang, this tech disruption could have spelled disaster: His livelihood relied on cash. But faced with a crisis, he adapted. First he scraped together enough money to buy a cheap Xiaomi smartphone. Next he printed a sign that displayed the QR codes for his WeChat Pay and Alipay accounts. Then he returned to his spot outside the Gu Lou Street station, where, with the sign strung around his neck, he connected his phone to the subway Wi-Fi—and waited.

Old Yang didn’t simply survive in China’s new cashless world. He thrived. Today, when people want to give him something, they no longer reach into their pockets for spare change. Instead they open the mobile-payment app on their phones, scan a code on Old Yang’s sign, and transfer a few yuan to him. The average donation he receives has grown from one or two RMB to three to five RMB—an almost 300% increase. Digital upgrading works.