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Mobile payments using contactless technologies such as NFC goes beyond the transaction at the Point-Of-Sale, in terms of providing a context to my payment. Eve

Mobile payments using contactless technologies such as NFC goes beyond the transaction at the Point-Of-Sale, in terms of providing a context to my payment. Even though it maybe that it would be easier to take your credit card and swipe faster than taking out your phone, launching the app and then initiating a mobile payment, the advantages are as follows: - The app can tell me if for a particular retail category, I have crossed any predefined limits I have chosen: Say 300 dollars for Gas this month, or 200 dollars eating out. - The app can tell me, if I make this payment, whether that impacts any bills or checks that are set to clear right away. This lets me avoid any late payments, bounced checks etc. - If I had a debit card and a credit card with the bank, the app can choose the right card for me to use. If I am near my credit limit, then the app can default to my debit card. Or If my account is drawn out, then it could use my credit card for the purchase thereby saving me Overdraft fees. Or if there were specific coupons that would warrant the use of one over the other, then the app could show benefits of using both and let me choose. - If the purchase amount is significant, and requires my credit limit to be raised, then the card could do an STP and ask me to whether to increase my credit limit. - If the purchase amount is significant, instead of using a credit card, the bank could ask me whether i would like to open a small loan and approve me rightaway by showing me the salient details (rate and term). - The app could show me how many rewards points I stand to gain from making this purchase. - Even better, The app could possibly allow me to use my rewards points towards the payment instead of paying cash or credit, provided that the bank and the merchant has an agreement in place. A lot of this might just be wishful dream for a while, but shedding the plastic for a powerful payment alternative will finally deliver on many fronts including the ones outlined above. If Banks continue to think and operate as they did in the past, they stand to lose out against upstarts like Square, Dwolla who are disrupting the payment industry. But I do agree that the players in this space, including the NFC enabled terminals, Banks, Payment Processors all need to work together in facilitating this and ensuring its a seamless process. Yes, it will be a radical shift from how we pay for things today, but there are tangible benefits to customers who are willing to change their payment modalities. This space is still being shaken out in terms of players and alliances. NFC is still in its early stages, but I believe this is the way to go. I am interested in hearing others opinions on my views as well.

untog 15y ago
Most of the advantages you state there don't really require NFC, though. Certainly, very few of them are of immediate concern to me, so if a provider like Mint could check for transactions at regular intervals, I'd happily receive every one of those notifications by e-mail at a later point. In fact, they pretty much already do that. I only get a weekly notification from Mint, but it might be possible to change that.
frossie 15y ago
Exactly. The OP is basically "and these are the problems I have because this technology is early-adoption" rather than "and these are the problems I had because of fundamental issues with technology". As to the whole speed of whipping out the credit card issue - c'mon, you probably had to queue to buy your groceries, you could anticipate the need for payment a whole 10 seconds ahead of time and have your phone out already.
wallflower 15y ago
> This space is still being shaken out in terms of players and alliances. The big players are never going to open up their NFC tag format so 1) the only app that will let you use your phone to act as your bank or credit account will be their official, locked down app and 2) the only app that will verify that the tag read constitutes a valid credit card is the official app (sorry, Square - unless they manage to partner with the big banks). I do not think there will be open standards for letting indie developers into the purchase chain for NFC.
dustingetz 15y ago
i dont think any of that matters. nobody cares. the app can ask me to confirm the transaction after the retailer initiates. that's a game changer. there is of course lots of lobbying to be done, but you need to already have a business interest to get the laws fixed.
- Cherian_Abraham 15y ago
  i disagree. Lobbying and all can come later. Any bank who decides to take advantage of this new mobile channel both to engage their customers and are able to get a customer to change his payment modalities, they can recapture the mindshare they are losing today to the likes of Google and Square. Doubtful if these financial institutions are as prescient to realize the disruptive forces currently in play in the financial sector, but if they do then they can stay relevant.

untog 15y ago

Most of the advantages you state there don't really require NFC, though. Certainly, very few of them are of immediate concern to me, so if a provider like Mint could check for transactions at regular intervals, I'd happily receive every one of those notifications by e-mail at a later point. In fact, they pretty much already do that. I only get a weekly notification from Mint, but it might be possible to change that.

frossie 15y ago

Exactly. The OP is basically "and these are the problems I have because this technology is early-adoption" rather than "and these are the problems I had because of fundamental issues with technology". As to the whole speed of whipping out the credit card issue - c'mon, you probably had to queue to buy your groceries, you could anticipate the need for payment a whole 10 seconds ahead of time and have your phone out already.

wallflower 15y ago

> This space is still being shaken out in terms of players and alliances. The big players are never going to open up their NFC tag format so 1) the only app that will let you use your phone to act as your bank or credit account will be their official, locked down app and 2) the only app that will verify that the tag read constitutes a valid credit card is the official app (sorry, Square - unless they manage to partner with the big banks). I do not think there will be open standards for letting indie developers into the purchase chain for NFC.

dustingetz 15y ago

i dont think any of that matters. nobody cares. the app can ask me to confirm the transaction after the retailer initiates. that's a game changer. there is of course lots of lobbying to be done, but you need to already have a business interest to get the laws fixed.

Cherian_Abraham 15y ago
i disagree. Lobbying and all can come later. Any bank who decides to take advantage of this new mobile channel both to engage their customers and are able to get a customer to change his payment modalities, they can recapture the mindshare they are losing today to the likes of Google and Square. Doubtful if these financial institutions are as prescient to realize the disruptive forces currently in play in the financial sector, but if they do then they can stay relevant.