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I remember this once being attempted 15 years ago or more in Norway, except with Nokia phones and the biggest (former state-owned) telco. Ignoring for the momen
by trezor 16y ago
I remember this once being attempted 15 years ago or more in Norway, except with Nokia phones and the biggest (former state-owned) telco. Ignoring for the moment the obvious vendor lockin, it was a disaster anyway.
It suffered the same problem this one will: No added benefit over cash or credit-cards which people already have. Not to mention shops had to replace their payment-equipment and opt-in for this for little perceived extra value and there was really, really no market demand what so ever.
So as a consumer you had two choices:
1. Take up your bank-card, enter-security code and be done.
2. Or ask if you could pay with your "phone", and if you could then pick up your phone, see that it said the same as the display on the counter, enter a security code and then get your bank-card charged. If not, see step 1.
Can anyone see why this wasn't successful? Can anyone see why this would ever be successful? What does adding the phone into the mix add of value?
I'm not saying that this can't possibly work or will never happen, just that it's been tried before and the main reasons it didn't work back then haven't fundamentally changed in any significant way, except more people now have bank-cards and credit-cards further undermining whatever reason it should have to gain traction.
If this thing takes off just because it's an Apple-thing/iThing, I will be amazed by people's gullibility.
- tjogin 16y agoWhat if it takes off just because it's well-designed and customer focused, like most things Apple? Are people really gullible, or are you bad at understanding what makes technology take off? I mean, just consider the options here; either millions of people are gullible and will jump on to anything called "iSomething" -- or, you're not that good at understanding what makes technology approachable and useful for most people. For reference: the lower-case i in the name of the iPad is not what made it take off. It's that for the first time, someone made a well-designed purpose built tablet.
- trezor 16y agoWhat if it takes off just because it's well-designed and customer focused, like most things Apple? I've had both an iPod and an iPhone. I'm not scoffing at Apple's ability to deliver. However a very real thing is some people's attitude towards Apple being some kind of tech-God which cannot do anything wrong. They will praise anything they do (since Apple is now a status-symbol and they want to promote the status of their owned Apple devices) and apologize for any shortcomings or try to hide them under the carpet. That was what my remark was aimed at. Now back to the point. If you read the article and see what is being envisioned/promoted you will see that it's the same thing all over again: Mobile device set to replace credit/debit-cards. And ask yourself: If you need to make a payment, regardless of shiny UI and polished product finish, what will be simplest and most practical? A tiny card + PIN code or a freaking iPad with a soft keyboard and an complex, alpha-numerical iTunes-password? Just trying to picture the iPad-payment scenario in my mind turns into comedy-sketches about the tech-stupidity and hype running wild. Actually I'm seeing this very vividly as a SNL skit. It will not be elegant, it will not be practical and it will not be better than what we have already. And in the end, it will charge the same credit-card you could have paid with in the first place. Tell me again, what value can this possibly add?
- Someone 16y agoWhat does adding the phone into the mix add of value? It removes the "need to walk to the place where to pay" bit. I think that is the main reason why paying by phone works for paying for parking space.