You can send that number to API for receipt verification - and it returns all line items and prices.
If we could get people to scan the receipts (expense tracking for example) we would have massive amount of crowdsourced data.
Wish I had time to pursue this idea!
Another feature that comes to my mind is setting up watches for products you are interested in. Especially for people who need to watch every expense, this could come very handy.
Yes, time..
Also note that it'll also make a even bigger tracking mechanism than having a centralised API in the first place.
For example the QR-code bearing receipts from Germany have a signed proof of commiting the transaction to HSM, but not the details.
Online-capable cash registers in Poland submit only hourly statistics centrally.
Of course the retailers will never do this.
As Mario writes, the essential thing with this whole topic is:
> If I were trying to describe it in more flowerly terms: It's asymmetric information war fare. [1]
The way for companies to increase their margins is: remove price transparency so people effectively cannot compare anymore.
It's the same concept everywhere: the higher the complexity of the system, the harder it will be for the individual to optimize for their own benefit. Big entities on the other hand, such as big companies CAN deal with complexity and still optimize for their benefit.
Take away message: people should always be cautious of additional complexity creeping into systems. It usually benefits the big actors, at the expense to the individual.
[1] https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@badlogic/111071588108514123
In these days that all grocers are going e-store, its only a matter of time
This practice, although prevalent, is not legal in EU [1]
The app would let you track prices for products in individual stores by scanning their EANs. You could see price development and website could show stores that use unfair pricing.
Seems doable to me but I may be missing some technical challenges that would come with implementing this approach.
[1] https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/unfair-treat...