Thanks for the January, February tip - nice one!
Seriously, its a problem. I maintain a secured password hint file, on the cloud, that I can access when needed. Secure vault password storage apps for phones are another good option.
A ubiquitous, single sign-on solution is just nirvana and will never happen across the disparate services, whether you add voice or any other biometric. I am happy with (strong) passwords and like it when combined with checks on the accessing device - so I am told if an acount is accessed from a new device. That's 2 factor security (or 3 if the strong password is already 2 factor!).
05 Jan 2012 12:22 Read comment
The type of trial you mention is typical and, yes, has little to do with 'mobile NFC payments'. Its just another way to get NFC out there for the bank customer.
It serves the purpose of stimulating familiarity to using NFC POS. I mean, the number of times I pay with chip and pin and then realise the POS was NFC enabled - its just not obvious yet that I should pay that way.
Banks are in the incumbent position which means that any new wallet solution has to consider how a customer can 'load' their existing bank card credentials into the wallet. As long as the Visa/MC/Amex/Diners networks are courted by the wallet solution, then the banks can sit back (to a big extent) and wait.
The danger is of course that a new entrant will emerge which negates the use of the existing card payment system. Square is one example. iZettle is another. But the POS device is still king and owned by the banks, along with existing settlement relationships with millions of merchants, so its not so easy ;)
My guess is that banks will, and are, partnering with multiple emerging wallet plays, and that it will take time for this channel to gain mass adoption.
05 Jan 2012 12:13 Read comment
Nice blog and perspective. So what you are saying is that not a lot has really changed, people still want to spend, and its all a matter of steering us in a more positive way. It seems like only last year that we were being 'told' everything was rosy. Well I think that was false confidence, and its hitting harder now, and will be harder still when banks turn the screws and increase rates (having increased margins). I am leaning towards the doomsayers, and think there are a lot 'spenders' out there who ran out of slack as the cost of living has rocketed. i.e. the Cyber Monday is more a sign of panic buying to get stuff cheaper. In the UK, when people go under, its the state that picks up the cost, and that's the public. So you don't want the 'survival of the fittest' approach, you need the 'those with the broader shoulders should help' approach. Its just that those are the ones most able to avoid it (vis a vis corporate, monied and investors).
15 Dec 2011 12:36 Read comment
Salil - Server side wallets, like Amex Express, are not so convenient when you have no online connection. The concept of NFC is that there is enough induced current in the chipset to 'run it' without power from the host device... though of course you would still lose the value add and control that the associated payment app offers in that case - so you really do need some juice in the NFC enabled device to use it properly, but not necessarily a net connection and the latency that comes with that.
A hybrid of server side and client side is an option, but requires syncing.
In the same way that banks defend their monopolies and legacy, so do MNOs by defending their high DCB margins. When premium SMS was the only way, this was just about defensible based on inability to process credits, no txn itemisation and high dispute levels. But now with 'wap' billing and basically online-DCB, the MNOs are only slowly giving up their 25-40% margin for processing payments. They will maybe never compete at the 2-5% levels (don't have the experience, infrastructure or volume to do so), but if they can agree something close, then they become an option for merchants for more than just digital goods.
13 Dec 2011 13:13 Read comment
And this is relevant too, and a good interview from Finextra/Liz. In fact there's loads of Finextra video comment that I missed and worth a view.
https://www.finextra.com/Live/feature.aspx?featureid=1689
Of course, those in the industry always preach a more optimistic adoption!
12 Dec 2011 17:54 Read comment
Here's a Finextra News items saying the same!
https://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=23239
12 Dec 2011 17:30 Read comment
It always amazes me that crooks can transfer money from account to account with a perfectly good audit trail and yet the money is not recovered? Why is that? Are there really banks which are not blacklisted which support repeated scamming. Is it really so difficult to follow the money.
12 Dec 2011 17:12 Read comment
Nice Blog. On the money, so to speak.
The incumbents have had 50-100 years to refine their processes, and as a result have economies of scale and knowledge and understanding of risk management. But they need disruptive changes to shift 'the old ways' and become more convenient.
I agree that Chip+Pin is pretty good, for retail transactions. Quick and ubiquitous. NFC transaction capture will have to be special to make it better (the 2way capabilities must be used well). But online is still clumsy and that's what we're talking about here. I think there is every possibility that 'paying by phone' is going to evolve and mushroom, and that paying with some online 'wallet' will be the norm. The rails may remain the same, but the wagons are changing. And then there is Direct Carrier Billing - for those relatively few online sites that account for 80% of online commerce with smaller transaction sizes (Android Market, Ovi, AppStore, Amazon, FB etc). They link direct to your mobile provider and you 'pay by phone' that way - now you have replaced the wagons and the rails (but the banks still get the settlements to do).
Find a trusted brand that can run your wallet for you (storing your cards, loyalty details and digital cash) and a much better online experience can be had. That brand might be Google, PayPal, Apple, your bank or your mobile operator... with or without DCB - all capable of being much more secure and convenient than plastic.
12 Dec 2011 17:02 Read comment
To me, Mobile Payments is paying with your mobile and the charge being placed on phone bill.
What you mean here though is the charge being applied to the bank account. This is where NFC is taking Banks - the NFC ID being the way to register and subsequently 'identify' a person, so that when they present their NFC enabled mobile or plain ol NFC card to a POS NFC reader, the transaction can be authorised. Above a certain value you may need to provide a PIN to validate further.
This in itself is not that much more convenient than Chip and PIN, but one of the nice things with proper NFC integration on a smart device is the abilility for the POS to feedback information to the device, like points accrused for the txn or special offers and coupons for next time. These can then be carried and automatically redeemed with the next NFC txn.
A Bank App on the same device can use the same identity to offer the other services you described.
A Mobile Operator could offer all the same, except that for Retail Payments they do not have access to the POS and network, and hence only online transactions (=remote) make sense, where the merchant can be sure that the phone number (MSISDN) is correct with linkage to the phone operator (Direct Carrier Billing). No NFC or special phones required.
06 Dec 2011 14:51 Read comment
I've got a reliable inkjet and happy to print as many new currency notes as you like Gary - so long as you don't deface them. Printing money to make its way to the bankers coffers seems to be another invogue approach.
29 Nov 2011 07:37 Read comment
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