Steve,
That's not what I would call 'mobile' commerce - sticking a NFC RFID tag onto my phone is no different to sticking it to my watch, or simply slipping it into my wallet. Both things I still carry with me, probably still more than the mobile which these days is often left attached to a charger somewhere. It's just another channel to market for the existing payment networks (Visa, MC etc) which have huge advantages due to their established network and being 'free' to the consumer.
All attempts to create an alternate payment system are stifled by the ramp-up and adoption time needed to prove it. Its difficult to take less from the merchant 'and' take nothing from the consumer, and have any margin in the chain to fund the technology rollout needed. And its difficult to be more convenient or simple than swiping/inserting a card.
The Zoompass 'appl' is also nothing more than an ewallet and a closed in-country system, afaiks. Even if it did link with the phone account, there would be purchase limits imposed by the regulators to stop the OpCos acting like banks. And as a consumer, I personally don't like the idea that anything can be used without a PIN, signature, password over a certain amount anyway - too much like losing a wallet full of cash. So tap and go (NFC) systems will be restricted to low value transaction scenarios for a while (e.g. Oyster) which oddly is exactly where the Credit Card model is supposed to squirm. If only the NFC RFID was truly linked to the phone and hence the phone account - then that would be a nice alternative - it requires the POS network operator to work with the mobile operators to have the NFC ID linked to the(or a) phone number.
And that's why its not taking off (yet).
19 Apr 2010 17:29 Read comment
Hi Elton - WAP1 Banking and Brokerage. Yes, what a disappointment and part of the 'Wap is Cr*p' problem that set mobile internet back years because all the operators got burnt after over-hyping what you could (or couldn't) do on your phone.
Banks and Mobile Operators just can't seem to work together on making this good for the consumer - the concerns over brand damage and liability are just too high. Designers still insist on offering STK based (SIM) apps because they say this offers control of the code, signing and hence security that a JAVA Client does not, AND is ubiquitous across all handsets, Smartphone or not. But the user experience is simplistic and limited. A thick Client (App) can be so much richer but the Banks don't seem to trust themselves with offering it.
And apathy is a problem too - who wants to check their balance daily?? Or order a cheque book from your mobile! These are old Use Cases and can just as easily be provided via SMS. Noone wants to pay for mobile banking either - since it is free via the ATM or PC, so its a 'table stakes' offering for the Bank/Operator with limited revenue potential.
These days its all about NFC and using your phone for payments of all kinds - because then there is a margin to be had. But the NFC trials are dominated by the big Payment networks and amount to strapping a credit card/NFC chip to the phone to use at a normal POS device.
In the end, I equate it to the problem with Roaming Data Charges - its a little too unknown and complicated for everyday consumers to be bothered with it, and they just wait til they get to a PC. I just want a quick way to be able to pay someone, without it costing an arm and leg or taking me ages to get authenticated. Its not that much to ask, but anything to do with real money gets complicated quickly.
IMO - let banks stick with browser based banking and as smart phones get better you can do the same from those as from a PC, with TLS 128bit encryption. Just make the UI less cluttered.
12 Apr 2010 13:30 Read comment
Thanks or this! Don't know why but this appeals to my trainspotting gene, and 22/7 brought back memories of school geommetry.
21 Mar 2010 22:54 Read comment
But with CC's you can't pass money from person to person. Only from a person to a merchant with a POS device. To do P2P that you need to be able to enter the amount and see it leave and arrive. You could do that at a PC via the web, or put a LCD on the credit card, and a pinpad, and maybe NFC or Bluetooth and you have the ability to do it face to face. Make it an app on a mobile with radio communication and you can do it to anywhere. If that app was an extended Facebook one, then yes FB could manage the transfer of 'credits' from friend to friend. Some merchants might even accept payment in FB 'dollars'. But that's another thread.
Anyway, its not high-tech because hundreds of years ago in the UK some local pubs/hotels/inns used to issue their own 'currency/tokens' which could be redeemed at other businesses in the town. I don't believe you need to pay with 'legal tender' (in the UK at least), as long as both parties accept the transaction. No different to accepting payment with a Scottish £5 note in England.
16 Mar 2010 10:57 Read comment
I'm afraid it really is modern day work practice, and we have to adapt what we consider to be 'rude'. Really, why should it offend you if someone makes the decision to attend to a message - the person they are responding to no doubt expects their immediate attention these days - since email is used like IM! They may not be making world changing decisions, but perhaps they consider those decisions as being higher priority - let's face it, life now is simply about prioritisation because we cannot do it all.
15 Mar 2010 14:47 Read comment
Sorry, if you mean Google Chrome, I don't see it?
Anyway - what is to stop Phishers from just emulating the padlock and tick logo in their plain emails? Even if it is a secured part of the email window, the padlock will just be placed elsewhere and most punters will simply not know whether its secured or not.
09 Mar 2010 14:05 Read comment
Hi Dean - I always enjoy the smart arse comments and look forward to more this year in 2010, but missed the point about the saffron browser bar??
I think DNA will persist in being completely trusted - they can't be 'that' wrong can they. There are that many CCTV cameras in the UK but even good images from those things seem not to count for as much as a microscopic piece of DNA.
12 Jan 2010 10:20 Read comment
I am sure I can search and find the answer - but why when you overwrite the data blocks, say just once, can the data be recovered? I understand its not enough to delete the file pointer and links, but if you overwrite the data itself - its gone? Why overwrite 30 times?
09 Dec 2009 15:35 Read comment
Just about the ON/OFF again. (its fine to discuss it wherever it arises...)
I think its a simple idea and you can choose to use it or not. You can enable/disable it via your e-banking (or via old fashioned telephone call if you want to go through the pain of 101 questions).
Personally, I'd just be VERY happy if I got a text message to a registered mobile number WHENEVER my card is used. I don't make so many card payments every day that a few SMS alerts would bother me - its somewhat reasuring that the cogs are working when your pocket buzzes. But banks failed to provide this simple service in the past because they write off the CNP fraud instead of investing to stop it and provide a nice feature to boot.
09 Dec 2009 15:31 Read comment
Hmmm- I took a medium size amount of cash out from my UK high street bank at a local branch. I had my bank card and cheque book and took my passport for additional photo-ID (because I am European, we almost all have a Passport). I had filled out a cheque, but waited to sign it in front of the cashier.
But no - she wasn't interested in the cheque. She wanted my Chip+PIN card and my PIN. Couldn't care less about the rest as far as I could tell, although she did wander off with all the above and photo-copied it to be stored with a huge form she filled in.
Basically, she triple counted the cash (machine and by hand) and got multiple authorisations from me, but the one she relied on was the PIN+Card.
01 Dec 2009 17:31 Read comment
Welcome to Finextra. We use cookies to help us to deliver our services. You may change your preferences at our Cookie Centre.
Please read our Privacy Policy.