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The end of credit cards is coming

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    The end of credit cards is coming

    January 24, 2011

    Credit cards may soon be as outdated as vinyl records. (Remember those?) And this is the year that the slow, steady march to oblivion begins.

    You can already use your iPhone, Droid or BlackBerry to buy a hotdog at the ballgame, buy your Starbucks latté, or give a friend a few bucks by Bumping phones. But by the end of the year you may not even think twice about reaching for your phone to pay at the register instead of fumbling for your credit card.

    "Your plastic card hasn't changed since the age of the vinyl records," said Michael Abbott, CEO of Isis, a new mobile payment network. "This is the chance to bring payments forward from the plastic age and the vinyl records age to the digital age."

    While companies have been experimenting with contactless mobile payments for years, 2011 is expected to be the year the technology really takes off. That's because millions of phones capable of making contactless payments are expected to be shipped out in 2011.

    As a result, this pay-by-phone market is forecast to make up $22 billion in transactions by 2015, up from "practically none" last year, according to research firm Aite Group.

    "Mobile payment is going to get really interesting and is going to see a lot of activity in 2011," said George Peabody, director of emerging technologies at Mercator Advisory Group. "We're going to start seeing more and more people leaving their homes without their wallets."

    But that doesn't mean it's going to happen overnight, said Jane Cloninger, director at Edgar Dunn & Co., a consulting firm specializing in financial services and payments.

    "I definitely believe that the mobile wallet will eventually replace the plastic card -- but it's going to take some time because consumer habits take a long time to change," she said. "But where before it's been a lot of discussion, we're at the point now where you're going to start seeing momentum toward it and going to see it move beyond the trials and into reality."

    Companies including Visa, MasterCard, Google, Bank of America, Citi and U.S. Bank are all testing contactless mobile payments, and many expect to roll out mobile wallets this year.

    "2011 is going to be a very exciting, very dynamic year when it comes to mobile payments because it's the Wild West again, with all these players positioning in various different ways to redefine the digital payments landscape," said Michael Upton, senior vice president of online and mobile banking at Bank of America, which expects to launch it own mobile wallet later this year.

    Meanwhile, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon joined forces with Discover and Barclays in November to form Isis and provide a rival to Visa and MasterCard.

    "It's a glorious competitive battle amongst some of the largest entities in the country," said Peabody.

    The Isis mobile wallet will let consumers store multiple cards, make payments with the wave of their phone, check balances, receive coupons and use rewards points at the point of sale. But it may stretch beyond just the money in your wallet. Abbott sees the potential to include your insurance cards, driver's licenses, and other information typically found in a wallet.

    "Payment is where we're going to start, but where it goes is wide open to the innovation of other players who want to be involved," he said.

    Beth Robertson, a payments analyst at Javelin Research and Strategy, said that could mean developing ways for consumers to make contactless ATM withdrawals by simply waving a phone in front of an ATM as you would at the point of sale.

    But because of just how much your smartphone now holds, it's quickly becoming your most dangerous device.

    "We're increasingly living our lives on our cell phones...The problem is that we're not yet used to thinking about our wallet in terms of our phone," said Ed Goodman of Identity Theft 911. "No matter how good security on any type of mobile banking or payments, there are going to be people who are able to find a way around it -- it's really all about making sure everyone ramps up their awareness."

    http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/24/pf/e...dex.htm?iid=EL
    Last edited by Flamingo; 01-31-2011, 03:24 AM.
    Case Closed > 2/08/2010

    #2
    Mobile wallets = Mobile debts 2....

    Comment


      #3
      So in order to use any form of credit one will have to pay for a mobile plan that would include the ability to utilize credit so basically everyone will have to pay for a service to utilize a "credit card." Since creditors will not be able to reach the entire credit market via that option, some form of free (no mobile service agreement) hard physical credit card I am sure will always exist.
      _________________________________________
      Filed 5 Year Chapter 13: April 2002
      Early Buy-Out: April 2006
      Discharge: August 2006

      "A credit card is a snake in your pocket"

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Flamingo View Post
        So in order to use any form of credit one will have to pay for a mobile plan that would include the ability to utilize credit so basically everyone will have to pay for a service to utilize a "credit card." Since creditors will not be able to reach the entire credit market via that option, some form of free (no mobile service agreement) hard physical credit card I am sure will always exist.

        I'll go one step further. What will happen if a person's phone becomes lost, damaged or STOLEN? Also what can prevent a thief from using some sort of device to hack the transaction information as it is broadcasted from the phone?

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          #5
          I see a whole new world of cyber crime in the idea of paying by phone. Positive ID would also be a problem. Has anyone ever signed a signature pad and have it readable as it where on paper? The thumb printer is used by many banks now as positive ID. 'Hub
          If I knew it all, would I be here?? Hang in there = Retained attorney 8-06, Filed 12-28-07, Discharge 8-13-08, Finally CLOSED 11-3-09, 3-31-10 AP Dismissed, Informed by incompetent lawyer of CLOSED status, October 14, 2010.

          Comment


            #6
            My first thought was the same as Gotikey's - what an easy way for thieves to get their money. At least with cards, they are small and flat enough to hide on your person. A cell phone would be disasterous I would think - so easy to steal.

            Comment


              #7
              this has got to be the worst idea yet....*shaking head* what are these VP's and CEO's thinking?!

              Comment


                #8
                The real problem

                Your credit card doesn't die in the middle of a transaction. Also, when paying for a tow truck in BFE.... how's this gonna work for you? LOL

                Comment


                  #9
                  Another thing to consider...

                  Your typical ATM machine uses a 56K (DS0) circuit for transmitting the data, which is pretty bulletproof security-wise, if not always as fast as we'd like it to be...

                  Data transmitted via cellular phone or similar device is far more open to intruders...

                  Good luck.
                  No person in their right mind files a Ch. 13 with lien strip pro se. I have.Therefore, please consider me insane and clinically certifiable when reading my posts, and DO NOT take them as legal advice of any kind.Thank you.

                  Comment

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