Cell Phone Credit Card Like the Flying Car?
We've been hearing about both for many years, but so far everyone is still left wondering when the technology will hit the mainstream. Unlike the flying car, cell phone payment systems already exist in many parts of the world; they just haven't caught on in the U.S. So when will this elusive advancement catch on, allowing you to carry only one device and ditch the plastic?
No one really knows. There are a number of problems holding things back, ranging from technological to cultural. Banks, wireless providers, and merchants can't seem to get on the same page. Plus many consumers don't see the point. Nearly everyone has a computer and more credit cards than necessary. Mobile payments are convenient, but the demand just isn't there. Impulse purchases for virtual goods are the only growing sector in wireless payments right now, and that isn't likely to change in the next year.
I'm skeptical it'll ever catch on. Until someone can tell me why I need to hook my cell phone account and my credit card account, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for the revolution to happen. Banks and wireless companies aren't exactly the two pillars you think of for trust and reliability, so why give them more power? Maybe I'm just failing the see the benefit. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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In the UK at present we have the next scandal. Journalists hacked into mobile phone conversations and monitored them.
Are we surprised? No.
Are we shocked? We pretend to be, of course, because we're self righteous, though we do enjoy a bit of vicarious sleaze.
But we do not trust technology. Heck, we don't even trust Chip and PIN. Making a thing with an operating system that can be compromised into a credit card is a major no-no.
Even so, in Westminster at least, we have to pay for on street parking by text message. And we don't like that either.