Stick them up!

I think Garanti Bank has outdone itself! This news item really set me thinking - http://www.paymentsnews.com/2008/08/garanti-bank-wi.html

Garanti offers a contactless sticker that can be stuck on the back of your mobile and use it like any other contactless chip card. This sticker with a payment application chip is brilliant in concept and simplicity. It got me thinking - this kind of a simple application can serve as a payment application onto your mobile without having to go through any technical implementation. This holds great opportunities in the underbanked and prepaid segments; where small ticket payments can be applied on contactless chip. So, any bank can issue these 'payment stickers' to its mass of customers and ask them to simply paste them on the back of their mobiles. In a closed loop scenario, the bank can control limits and transaction amounts. This way the banks can simply ride on the existing card / payment network and then lead the customers to a full scale mobile payments platform - if required.

Check out the link on Garanti Bank's site too. http://www.garanti.com.tr/kredi_kartlari/bonus_card/bonus_trink.html