Exercise 1. Complete the article with the correct words in the box:
number – insert – by – deducts – through – credit – small – fraud – lose – in –
chip - contactless
Payments methods have changed a lot in recent years. Only a few decades
ago, people preferred to pay 1. ………… cash and after that, we had chequebooks,
so we didn't need to carry around so much money. Now, however, paying 2.
………… cheque has nearly disappeared and most of us use plastic, paying by
debit or 3. ……….. card. For everything over ten pounds, shops want us to use 4.
………. and pin devices, where we 5. ……….. a card, key in a PIN 6. ………. and
then remove it. Such an easy system! But now there is something even easier. For
less expensive items, we can use 7. ………. payment, where we flash our card over
a small machine and it 8. ………. the money directly from our account.
Of course there are problems when using these convenient ways of paying.
We have to remember several PIN numbers, we might 9. ………. our cards or they
could be stolen and used by thieves. Sometimes the payments don’t go 10. ……….
for some reason. We must be very careful when paying by card online because of
internet 11. ……….. . But at least these days, we don’t have to carry such a lot of
12. ………. change around in our pockets.