Early in March, I spent the morning with four fifth-grade classes at an elementary school as part of their college and career day. My son had asked me not to talk about writing blogs and papers but rather to talk about "cool" things in payments and fraud. So that's exactly what I did with each class for 15 minutes, leaving the remaining 10 minutes of the time for questions or discussion. Looking back, I wish I had allotted more time for the final portion because these fifth graders were as engaging an audience as I have ever had. I left the school with two thoughts that I think the payments industry could find valuable, so thought it would be worthy of sharing with our readers today.
First, I was surprised by the general level of awareness that the fifth graders exhibited around online safety. Many had stories to share of both successful and unsuccessful attempts of their relatives being scammed online or through the phone. Others shared stories of their parents' bank accounts or cards being compromised. Several students talked about how they search safely on the internet. I was probably naïve going into the day about their level of knowledge and awareness seeing that these kids have grown up with this technology a part of their daily lives, but call me impressed that many of them are well aware of dangers lurking and eager to learn how to better protect themselves.
Second, I was blown away by the kids' access to and use of smart-assistant speakers. I have heard a number of people project that speech recognition is the future of commerce and if the kids I met with are any indication of their generation, then I think I can get on board with those projections. In an unscientific survey, I would estimate that nearly 90 percent of the kids had access to at least one smart-assistant speaker, and amazingly 75 percent had one in their room. Without naming any names, one company dominated this space for the group. While the "phone" aspect of the mobile phone for many kids is foreign as it's primarily used as a camera or texting device, it seems that they actually are comfortable having a conversation with a speaker.
As I walked back to my car, my mind was filled with thoughts about the future. On the one hand, I was smiling because this young generation is going to be better prepared in understanding the risks of the cyberworld that will continue to play a more prominent role in our lives. People will always be vulnerable but I left with confidence that our young people are aware that there are bad people lurking behind computer screens. On the other hand, my mind was spinning because I predict that commerce through a smart-assistant speaker will be as common a practice for them as dipping a card is for me. How different that world will look from where we are today!
By Douglas A. King, payments risk expert in the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Atlanta Fed