E-CEIPTS

Weekend mornings are usually reserved for running errands, leaving your wallet void of cash and filling it instead with crinkled receipts. Most likely, you’ll toss the entire wad of slips into the trash, and more often than not, you will end up cursing yourself when your new large sweater barely fits over your head.

The Idea: emailed receipts, or e-ceipts.

After paying by credit or debit, you would be able to opt out of the paper receipt, and instead, receive an emailed receipt that would show up in your online banking, as well as your inbox, in a form similar to a cashed check. It would be placed adjacent to the transaction, and you would be able to examine, print and/or contest the purchase from that image. In the event that you paid with cash, the clerk would simply ask for your email address, and the same form of emailed receipt would be sent directly to your inbox.

For the consumer, this would eliminate lost receipts, pocket/wallet clutter, and guilt from wasting processed paper.

For the business, this would drastically streamline the record-keeping process, as well as prevent sales associates from dealing with disgruntled customers trying to make returns sans receipt.

For the greater good, as alluded to above, the savings in terms of paper use would be immeasurable.


To learn more about the technological solutions available to, and currently being explored for, retailers, check out NCR’s retail page.