Spotted In a Shenzhen convenience store, a little magic window that lets customers pay by waving a hand over it. Integrated with WeChat Pay, this device (presumably?) uses NFC (Near Field Communication) to detect your phone in-pocket and process payments without the hassle of unlocking your device.

Let’s take another glance at this though: what exactly do we gain with this new technology, and at what cost? What do we lose, and will we long for it once it’s gone?

This latest leap towards hyperfast convenience in China is yet another instance of a tool dissolving the frictional seams of daily life. What once felt like “cutting edge” payment methods – like unlocking your phone and scanning a QR code – will themselves become obsolete, much like the act of reaching for your wallet to see if you have the right combination of paper and metal bits.

However, this ease of transaction comes with its own set of questions. The friction of manual payment, though sometimes a nuisance, can also be a space for spontaneous decision-making. The extra moments spent in line, wallet or phone in hand, might lead to an impromptu purchase. With the introduction of hand-wave payments, will the average transaction size increase due to heightened efficiency, or will the potential for impulse buys decrease, impacting overall sales? Or will the lure of saving a few seconds in an already built-for-speed, relatively undifferentiated convenience store attract more customers and offset any decline in spontaneous purchases?

Regardless, my expectation (read: concern) is that this particular payment technology, with the addition of a whole lot of surveillance, brings the notion of a completely unstaffed store closer to reality. Consider how this particular technology (and the interactions it replaces) changes the social connection between customer and store clerk.

Finally, for contrast, compare this to the more analogue take on payment technology: ubiquitous, battle-scarred QR payment stickers affixed to counters across mainland China, surrounded by (and sometimes covered with) the tools of the trade of the enterprises they enable – paint, ink, hair, shoe polish, cooking grease, and beyond.

What’s your take on this seamless future of transactions? How would this little magical box fare in a business you visit daily?