The Bankwatch

Up to 25 Million US Mobile Phones Could Also be Mobile Wallets by 2011

As many as 25 million wireless phone subscribers in North America could be using their mobile phones as mobile wallets by 2011

The business model is more versatile than that proposed and failed in the 90's.

Unlike M-commerce, the mobile transaction concept touted in the 1990s that never took hold, the mobile wallet is a much more versatile application that includes elements of mobile transactions, as well as other items one may find in a wallet, such as membership cards, loyalty cards, and other forms of identification.

Several enabling technologies are now available.

“There are several technologies that could enable mobile wallet operations of handsets, including Near Field Communications (NFC), Radio Frequency (RFID), bar codes, and visual recognition. Standardization efforts around NFC may give that system the edge.”

These are the results of the survey, summarised here.

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• According to an In-Stat consumer survey, attitudes of US users towards mobile wallets are at best, lukewarm, with roughly one-third of respondents interested, one-third indifferent, and one-third  uninterested.
• The most frequently mentioned barrier to the mobile wallet is added fees for its use (72% of respondents), followed by security concerns about loss of the phone and privacy.
• Survey data found that mobile wallet was most appealing to technology innovators and early adopters as well as subscribers who already rely heavily on their wireless phones.

Technorati Tags: smart_cards, payments, mobile_wallet, wireless

This is an important study for Banks and credit card companies. Payments using contactless cards are merely held over the payment device, versus the traditional method of "dipping" the card into the device, similar to an ATM.

Finextra: Consumers like convenience of contactless m-payments, study shows

Consumers like the convenience and ease of making transactions with their mobile phones, according to a new usability study of near field communication (NFC) and contactless payment technology released by Royal Philips Electronics and Visa International.

The conventional view has been that cards would transition from mag stripe plastic into chip plastic, then evolve to other form factors. This type of learning, coupled with the demographic shifts going on, and acceptance of new technology, might suggest oterwise.

Relevance to Bankwatch:
In considering payments and chip options, Banks should be planning alternative form factors within their product suite.

It’s important that we all know who you are – Jobs – Times Online

WHO are you, as those giants of existentialism The Who once asked. It’s a simple but pertinent question, and one that is increasingly being followed by another: can you prove it?

Identity is a hot topic and it has the photo card to confirm it. Everyone wants to know who you are, what your mother’s maiden name is and whether you know your PIN code.
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Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times – Times Online

By Philip Webster and David Charter
CHARLES CLARKE promised to set a maximum figure for the cost of an identity card as he hinted at a string of concessions to secure a narrow victory for the legislation last night.
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Finextra: Chip and PIN security flaw uncovered

An investigation by the UK’s London Programme has uncovered a security flaw in Chip and PIN payment cards which allows fraudsters to disable and over-ride chip security measures using information embedded in the magnetic strip.
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Smart Cards at the Crossroads: Authenticator or Privacy Invader

By Ari Schwartz, The Center for Democracy and Technology

Published by the Direct Selling Education Foundation, in “At Home With Consumers,” Volume 19/Number 3/December 1998
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Axalto : News – Axalto Declares World’s First Commercial Deployment of Microsoft .NET-based Smart Card

Cryptoflex .NET powered Card from Axalto Makes Smart Cards Easier to Deploy

Amsterdam, November 16, 2004 – Axalto (Euronext:NL0000400653 AXL) announced today the first commercial deployment of Axalto’s .NET-based smart cards to help secure access to Microsoft’s corporate network. Axalto’s Cryptoflex .NET powered smart card is a secure, ultra-miniature personal computing technology that runs a small footprint version of the .NET Framework. The .NET-based smart card provides customizable two-factor authentication as well as full cryptographic capabilities, seamlessly via the standard Microsoft .NET programming tools and interfaces. Microsoft marks the first enterprise deployment of the .NET-based smart card.
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Finextra: Nokia releases phone shell for contactless payments

Nokia has released a shell for its series 3220 mobile phone that will enable consumers to use the hand set for making contactless payments.

The shell uses near field communications (NFC) technology and allows customers to make payments by pointing the phone at a point-of-sale terminal. Payment information, such as debit and credit card details, is stored in an integrated smart chip in the shell.
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Dell Unwraps Trusted Security Notebooks – Yahoo! UK & Ireland News

ComputerWire Staff

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL – news) has made good on promises to offer built-in support for the Trusted Platform Module on selected desktop and notebooks systems in early 2005, releasing three new notebooks that are built around the TPM security technology.
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Internet Changes Everything: Retailing revolution on its way

Iimagine entering a grocery store, picking up what you need and walking out … thats it – no line up, no check out. Thats the promise from RFID.
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