When the first web shops were designed, there was no way to handle a onetime payment other than by credit card.
Users still need to create a user account for each web shop and enter credit card details by shop. That's inconvenient and insecure, because malicious web shops could take advantage of the credit card details.
Some websites, particularly news websites, offer free services. In order to survive, they need to come up with alternative ways to create revenues. Consequentially, there are loads of advertisements asking for your attention, distracting you from surfing and reading. The best parts of information are locked behind a premium service that will only be available for a monthly subscription (freemium model).
I'm not fond of subscriptions, because I don't know how much I will use a service in the future. If I compare it to food, then it's similar to prepaying your food for the future. If I love food somewhere, then I'll go there again. But I wouldn't want to pay for my meals for the rest of the year in advance, because I cannot predict my behavior and I also don't know if others will come up.
So my preference is for internet services without limitations or distractions in exchange for one time payments. That's similar to cash payments. In the past that wasn't possible, but since the arrival of cryptocurrencies, this is exactly one of the possibilities.
There are internet browsers that have integrated cryptocurrency wallets that could be used for these small payments.
Opera is an amazing browser that includes an Ethereum wallet + Whatsapp integration, VPN, ad blocker and something called myflow, where you can send notes between two or more devices. It's very very useful and free.
Brave Browser has a built in Adblocker and an Ethereum wallet. The browser was designed to tip websites that creat valuable content. In the future, you can collect their Basic Attention Token (BAT) by watching ads. The difference would be that you're in control of what you see and what your attention is worth.
There are also numerous options for mobile phones, including Opera, Metamask (currently in Beta) and Trust. In mobile phones, you actually need to install the wallet app and use the built in browser. The wallet can be used for small payments. These apps still look a bit geeky, but the browser works just like safari, chrome or wahtever you're used to.
The cool thing is, these wallets don't require registration. The user experience is much more convenient than any other payment method.
These wallets could be used to pay small amounts for entering a website, or for access to an electronic service.
The problem is, there are hardly any service providers offering services that can be paid by browser wallet, although it's obvious that those website are struggling to get new revenue streams. News websites, online PDF editors, statistics providers should definitely investigate the potential.
In the end, it's all about time. If I could use reliable information and would save hours of time surfing for good content, then I would definitely be willing to pay a small contribution. Wouldn't you?
Happy to hear your comments and suggestions.