China has changed a lot in these years since I first moved here. One main development has been using cashless payment(无现金支付), which has changed the way we live and shop. China is hardly the first country to have cashless payment. I used a debit card(借记卡)to pay for things without cash for years in the US. But now I can use my phone instead, it is quite easy and convenient.
One of the things l like most is that l can send and receive money directly among my friends. Cashless payment makes it so much easier to split the bill when we eat out together. People can send money to the person who has paid the bill on his or her phone. And it makes it simple to make donations(捐赠)as well. For example, l often donate to a pet receiving agency. Their official WeChat has a QR code(二维码) that I can scan to give them a donation.
But like all technology, cashless payment has some problems as well. What happens if your phone gets lost or stolen? There are also times when your phone's mobile Internet connection, or the shop's Internet connection, might not work. Not long ago, I went to a nearby convenience shop to buy some snacks. But when I got there, I found that the shop's cashless payment didn't work and they could only accept cash. l didn't have any cash with me, so l had to give up and leave without any snacks.
So even though cashless payment is convenient, you should always carry a bit of cash in order to avoid any possible inconvenience.
