A slew of articles came out this week with talks that Amazon and Microsoft are planning to add mobile payments in cellphones. Honestly, paying with your mobile is nothing new. The US has just not been a leading source of mobile technology. For instance, mobile payments are already widespread in Japan- you can pay the vending machine (there are so many in that country!) and convenience stores- and even in the developing country in the Philippines- pay online shopping and game credits using Gcash or a similar platform that acts like a prepaid card inside the mobile phone. In Europe, you can pay by mobile for your street parking!
There are apps targeted to SMBs where a buyer can now swipe their credit card using a smartphone with hopes that business owners on the road, e.g. in trade shows, festivals, farmer's market, etc, will attract more sales by getting rid of the "cash only" sign, but of course, the Visas and Mastercards of the world will take their cut.
I really wonder if MS, AMZN and others in the pipeline will make something very similar to what is already well adopted in Asia and Europe or will it be something revolutionary.
There are apps targeted to SMBs where a buyer can now swipe their credit card using a smartphone with hopes that business owners on the road, e.g. in trade shows, festivals, farmer's market, etc, will attract more sales by getting rid of the "cash only" sign, but of course, the Visas and Mastercards of the world will take their cut.
I really wonder if MS, AMZN and others in the pipeline will make something very similar to what is already well adopted in Asia and Europe or will it be something revolutionary.
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