future of money... paying by cell phone

Smart cards and mobile phones are quickly emerging as ways to pay with electronic cash

How to pay in Tokyo

"To see the potential of mobile-phone money, start in Japan. Most Japanese have at least one credit card, but they tend to stay in their owners' pockets. With street crime almost non-existent, cash reigns supreme. Housewives routinely peel off crisp ¥10,000 ($82) notes to pay for their shopping. Utility bills and other invoices are dutifully taken to the bank and paid in cash, or more likely these days at the local convenience store. Yet despite the popularity of cash, the mobile phone is starting to change even Japan's traditional habits.

For customers in a hurry, being able to pay with their keitai—as mobiles are known in Japan—is a lot easier than using cash. Many handsets now perform the various functions of cash, keys, credit cards and ID. Most Japanese consider their phone to be secure; if it is lost or stolen it can be locked remotely to protect the cash, credit and other valuables tied to it."

http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8697424

Personally, I'm not fond of developments like this. I very much prefer hard currency in my wallet.

I'm no old fart -- I love cellphones, I love PDA's, I carry a UMPC, I've got three laptops... the *tech* doesn't scare me.

Here's the thing: Money is a very esoteric concept to begin with. Money works because we all *think* it does... not because of actual worth like it used to be with actual gold and silver coins. Paying by debit card, credit card and online banking already detaches us from the experience, so I really don't want that on my phone.

Apart from that, the security aspect frightens me. I do my banking online -- but I wasn't an early adopter. I waited two years after my bank introduced it. I've worked in IT security -- and the more you know, the more you have to be afraid of. And phones are far easier to swipe then the codes I use to communicate with my bank. If that phone contains things like credit card info.... imagine the fun a thief could have with that!

Wow..i was impressed when Nextel came out with the Credit card scanner that attches to the phone. This is jus tthe natural progression of the device.


What was once "just a phone" is now a watch, multimedia device, email device...etc...



I love this technology!

haven't they been doing similar things in the scandinavian corner of the world for years? i seem to recall like 5 years ago a thing with a vending machine that you paid for with cell phones

Myk, in Aus a few vending machines allow purchases via phone, even some parking meters and have for a while. We even tried vending machines which sent you a text message when you walked by like "how about a coke" but the privacy people squashed that.