RFID has been a buzzword for a long time now and it's catching on,... slowly. Very slowly. Once you understand what it can do, you certainly wonder why it's taking that long. Yes, I know it's costly right now.

Anyway, I visited a well-known sweet shop on J.M Road, Pune (Western India). And surprise, surprise,... an RFID billing system. Allow me to describe the way it works (the "process-flow" in jargon language).

You walk into the shop and head to one of the counters, just like you would at any McDonald's outlet. On your way, you are given a palm-sized piece of plastic. Approx dimensions: 13cm x 7 cm x 0.75 cm.

When your turn comes, you tell the counter-guy your choice of sweets. He punches your choices onto his machine and when you're done he asks you to place the piece-of-plastic in front of his "machine". (I think once the recording is done there is a beep, but I'm not sure). Your items are immediately assembled, handed over and you walk away. Note that you do not pay any money at this counter.



You may proceed to the other sections of the shop where you may buy chips, small eats and other stuff. And your piece-of-plastic gets updated at each counter you visit.


At the exit of the shop, you pay for your purchases. You had over your piece-of-plastic to the counter guy who places it on another machine - the RFID reader, obviously. The machine beeps and the neighbouring computer screen flashes your purchases on screen. A second later your bill comes out, you pay and "Thank you for visiting, please come again".

I noticed a lot of customers at complete ease with the system, old and young alike.

Pretty nice. The whole operation is smooth and quick. No hassles.