If you work in finance you may already know that credit cards are virtually the same as they have been for decades. "Your plastic card hasn't changed since the age of the vinyl records.” Michael Abbott, CEO of Isis (a new mobile payment network) said things will be different in 2011. “This is the chance to bring payments forward from the plastic age and the vinyl records age to the digital age."
With the rise of smart phone technology society is about to make the switch to virtual payments over plastic. Experiments with mobile payments have been going on for years. In 2001 the New Orleans Saints added a system to the Superdome that allowed people at the ballgame to order and pay for concessions from their seats. Now with 30% of cell phone users able to download apps, a variety of venues are using services like iConcessionStand to add convenience for their customers.
Payments made using mobile technology are expected to rise to $214 billion by 2015 and a plethora of companies are preparing for the switch. Director of strategic mobile initiatives at Intuit, Omar Green says, "There's a lot of money at stake if it's done right." Starbucks' mobile app generates a barcode for fast pay at the register. Friends can use their Blackberry or other smart phone to text payments to one another with Venmo or bump it along with pictures, video and other data on their iPhone or Android. Individuals and small businesses can even accept credit card payments on their phones using a plug in device like a Square or Intuit's GoPayment.
Analysts project that cell phones will replace wallets, storing credit card and banking information and eventually driver’s license data, insurance policies and medical records. This can be dangerous. Victim advisor at Identity Theft Resource Center, Nikki Junker warns, "People are incredibly at risk as technology improves." She suggests people learn the settings on their phones to help safeguard their financial information. Password protection is just the start though. As technology advances so does theft and fraud potential.
It will be interesting to see how far and how fast this technology will advance. I mentioned to my 9 year old son that when I was his age ATMs weren’t even in use and now people can deposit checks by taking pictures of them with their smart phones. He looked at me and said, “What’s next, eye scanners?”
By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer with experience in web, film, photography and animation as well as traditional fine arts like painting and sculpting. In addition to writing for FinancialJobBankBlog.com, she is co-founder of design and promotion company, Creative Kazoo with fellow Nexxt blogger, Staci Dennis. Heather’s spare time consists of making puppets, teaching Sunday School, building Legos and doing science experiments with her children.
Become a member to take advantage of more features, like commenting and voting.
Register or sign in today!