Will Mobile Wallets Replace Their Traditional Counterparts? 194
Cara_Latham writes "Mobile wallets are all the rage. But legitimate questions remain as to whether they will ever truly replace their leathery counterparts. Mobile wallets, which use NFC-based technology to allow customers to make contactless payments at the point of sale, already have begun to make their presence felt. Mountain View, Calif.-based Google launched a digital wallet this past fall. The search giant has agreements with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover to make the Google Wallet available to the card companies' account holders, and there even are some NFC-enabled terminals in use across the U.S. that can accept it, including at many mass transit stations. And mobile wallet ventures are cropping up around the globe, as well. Telecom companies including Vodafone and Telefonica announced this year wallet initiatives in Africa and Latin America. But mobile wallets still face many hurdles before they can gain widespread adoption, experts say, including the rather difficult task of getting consumers to change long-held habits."
Re:I don't get it. (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll use it (Score:3, Insightful)
the day I'm forced to. This sounds like a really really bad idea.
Re:I don't get it. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I don't get it. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What if your phone is stolen? (Score:2, Insightful)
I have only one word to respond to that ---
Human Engineering
(It's two words actually, but it sounds much more dramatic to say one word...)
How easy would it be to watch Barbie or Kelly type in their PIN number at the gas station, a shoe store or the Clinique counter. Phones are popular theft items to begin with.
Re:I don't get it. (Score:5, Insightful)
And, I trust cash a hell of a lot more than either Google, or Verizon.
An NFC wallet is not a replacement for cash. It is a replacement for credit/debit cards.
Count me in (Score:4, Insightful)
I always dreamed of paying expensive fees on every cash transfer I do. Giving a big company the freedom to stop me from using my wallet whenever it's convenient to them and with great benefit of making recording my purchase history easier than ever before makes this truly perfect. Consumers everywhere rejoice for this opportunity to show our devotion to corporate control!
Re:Yes. (Score:5, Insightful)
There's the benefit of making your phone the target of hackers everywhere. The reason mobile malware hasn't been nearly as successful as PC malware is there hasn't been enough profit motive. Just wait until mobile phones all have wallets that could give thieves access to billions of dollars of credit. You want incentive to create malware? You'll get scads of professionally written free malware.
There's also the convenience benefit of using a cell phone to pay. Instead of all that hard work of getting your card out of your wallet and swiping it, you simply get out your phone, unlock the keypad with your simple code, find the simple wallet app and tap on it, simply wait for it to load and to prompt you for your PIN, then you simply tap your phone on the NFC reader! Simple, no?
Finally, there's the privacy benefit. If you use Google Wallet, now Google can complete their trifecta of intelligence gathering. They'll know what you search for, they'll know where you surfed to research the thing, and now they'll know when you walked into a brick and mortar store and bought it at retail even after all that on-line research. Google will know everything about commerce everywhere. And if you tell them you're opting out, they won't maintain that association with you, just your habits. How much more privacy could you want?
Was that enough benefit for you?
Re:My ass hurts (No, literally...) (Score:5, Insightful)
If you continue carrying your wallet in your hip pocket, you risk damaging the sciatic nerve bundle that serves your leg. That creates a condition called sciatica. It's characterized by long term hip and leg pain and/or numbness that really isn't any fun at all. I strongly recommend you move your wallet to your front pocket today, and never again carry it in your hip pocket. Your ass and leg pain won't abate immediately, but over time it might get better. For me, it took a few months after moving the wallet before the pain was mostly gone, but years later I still have occasional pain from it. Certain kinds of chair seats seem to aggravate it.
The wallet in the front pocket isn't so bad once you get used to the new location. As a bonus, it's slightly more secure from pickpockets.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor, nor do I play one on Slashdot. If you want real medical advice, go see a real medical doctor.