Mobile payments gather momentum

There are a few wrong assumptions in the whole 'mobile payments' area that cause me to think it won't take off in the way banks hope:

1. More people consider their iPod to be an essential device than their mobile phone (particularly those in the under 24's bracket)

2. Banks are willing to fund transfer of the payment app every time somebody changes their phone - after all, it's not something I'd be willing to pay for.

If the banks are looking to step away from traditional plastic, then they will be heading into the exceptionally sensitive world of consumer gadgetry and be subject to the will's and want's of increasingly fluctuating consumer trends. I can see from the feedback in trials that 'card on the mobile' is popular, but is this because it isn't a card, or that people really like it for what it is?

Banks should consider making their card product more useful rather than disintermediating one of their strongest brand identifiers in favour of Nokia, SonyEricsson et al. After all, as the phone manufacturers have proven, if it does more useful things, it becomes more essential to a consumer.

The iPod's a bit of a red herring. My 15-year old son has both an iPod and an MP3 player on his mobile phone. The mobile's the one he carries around all the time. In the future, I'd expect to see stand-alone iPod users gravitate to richer devices like the iTouch and ultimately the iPhone.

And, while there are many economic disincentives for the banks in the mobile payments space, you have to ask: Can they afford not to get involved?