More and more of the global economy is through credit cards and, depending where you are, they are becoming more and more ubiquitous. When you travel, you notice these things. Just back from a trip, I've found, yet again, that travel is broadening in more ways than one.

FRENCH EFFICIENCY

The tolls on the "payage" roads in France are payable by credit card. You drive through a toll station, pull a ticket from a machine, reinsert it with your card at another station and, voila, you've paid your toll. It says "merci," and off you go.

One toll near the Italian border is 33 euros, or nearly $50. It takes you through a magnificent mountain tunnel the French have built. There's a clarity in requiring motorists to pay for the roads they use. Indeed, the roads in France are wonderfully maintained, and the French are proud of them. We can learn from this.

Credit cards are likewise well developed in the French restaurants. The universal practice is for the waiter to bring a wireless credit card device to your table and swipe your card for the tab. It prints the signature slip right there. It takes only a second and you never lose sight of your card.

If you Google "wireless credit card machines," you find lots of U.S. companies selling them at $500-$600. This technique is certainly doable if not perfect for Hawai'i — it's just that we don't seem to be doing it. I've seen these devices in the Apple Store or for the nickel dime charges on the airlines, but in very few other places. We're missing something here.

RETAIL VENDING

The old vending machines were based on coins and currency. But when you add credit cards and touch screens, vending machines can sell much more. They are a new and creative business device, actually more a computer than a vending machine, where entrepreneurs can explore new and fertile markets.

Best Buy touch screen vending machines are being deployed at airports, selling traveler electronics ranging from digital cameras to iPods and headsets. They are high-tech and high-security and don't take much space. With the right combination of merchandise and location, they can be real money makers.

This generation of vending machines is more adaptable and it's being used to sell a broader range of merchandise — hot, cold and frozen foods, made-to-order gourmet ice cream, over-the-counter medicines and toiletries, cotton candy, live fishing bait, museum art prints, writing instruments, iPods, cell phones, books, DVDs, sports accessories and transit and show tickets. You name it.

The touch screen becomes an Internet order page for the power shopper. Swipe your card and take the merchandise home, or ship it to your loved ones. With good programming and automated merchandise selection, the casual customer experience can be interactive, irresistible and immediate.

THE NEXT STEP

We also need to move to the "swipeless" RFID cards now used in Asia and some places on the Mainland, and for that matter in the parking lot of the Davies Pacific Center. All you do is run the card over a sensor. No touching is necessary, and it's easier and quicker than swiping. While we may have fallen behind on some swipe-card applications, there's no reason we can't get out in front on the swipeless ones.

Comparative travel is broadening, especially when you find technology ideas that can be arbitraged to Hawai'i. We need to keep up, but right now we're way behind on technology to make things convenient for our own visitors. After all, we're still waiting for wireless Waikiki, with GPS and push advertising.

Jay Fidell is a business lawyer practicing in Honolulu. He has followed tech and tech policy closely and is a founder of ThinkTech Hawaii. Check out his blog at www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs