However, there is a new technology that promises to transform the consumer end of banking in terms of mobile banking and payment systems.
As their name implies, however, smartphones aren’t dumb like these legacy payments methods.
Unlike a piece of plastic with a magnetic strip, a payment system based on an intelligent, networked device has the advantage of providing real-time feedback on account and payment information.
Combine these advantages with the fact that most of us are carrying a mobile device anyway, and a virtual wallet could eventually make credit cards as uncommon for retail transactions as personal checks are today.
Despite the obvious advantages, mobile wallets have seen slow adoption in the United States compared with elsewhere. Other places that lack the banking system that the U.S. enjoys but that have cell phone coverage, have led the way in using mobile payment technology.
In locations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, money is often stored in a mobile account and transferred to another one during a purchase by bringing the buyer’s and seller’s cell phones into close proximity. This is done by means of a short-range wireless connection called Near Field Communications (NFC). Just as elsewhere, NFC will lead the mobile-transaction revolution in the U.S.
NFC is a set of radio communication standards that allow devices to communicate with each other over short distances. It is also very fast at establishing a network connection, taking only a fraction of a second. If you have ever used a contactless payment system before, you have used an early form of NFC. These objects use radio frequency identification (RFID) chips that transmit a unique, secure identification code that performs the same function as a magnetic stripe on a credit card. Unlike NFC on a mobile device, however, these systems allow only one-way communication. As such, these aren’t much more than easier-to-use credit cards.
With major payment processing companies finally signing onto the mobile payments game, the U.S. is entering an inflection point for NFC technology. Much of the infrastructure has already been built. In 2000, for example, Visa and Mastercard developed payWave and PayPass, respectively both contactless payment technologies. More recently, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express have licensed these systems to Google for use in smartphones with its mobile payment system, Google Wallet.
Along with the software and systems side of the mobile payment equation, we are seeing increasing numbers of smartphone models equipped with NFC technology. 2011 was the biggest year on record for NFC adoption, with 35 million new smartphones equipped with the technology, according to IMS Research.
With this kind of growth and industry support, NFC technology is set to revolutionize the way we pay in a manner very similar to what the credit card industry accomplished in the second half of the 20th century.
Innovators pioneering the transformation with a strong market position should do very well for themselves and their investors.
I trust this post has provided some background and evidence that as we get ready for smart wallets, the new way to pay, will bank big returns.
I favor a quote from Steve Forbes. Forbes says that pursuing additional financial education and the resulting increase in our financial literacy (including the investment potential of smart wallets) will open our eyes to alternative wealth creating strategies and this will be the key to resolving our global financial crisis.
To gain the necessary financial education, it is best to obtain association with, access to, and membership in a wealth creation community. As a result, you will learn and have the knowledge to use alternative wealth creating strategies such as Bank on Yourself, debt reduction, and asset protection. You will be exposed to wealth acceleration investments in areas (discussed in this and previous blog posts) such as smart wallets, the mobile market in China, imminent banking revolution, the power of Compound Interest, new internal-combustion engine designs, the shale gas revolution, surfing the mobile wave, the space gun technology boom, the wireless data boom, the smart power grid, nanotech being applied to biotech, biotech and nanotech converging with the semiconductor industry, electric cars, new access to space, 3D virtual technology, atomically precise manufacturing, nuclear power generation, commercial space ventures, Carrier Ethernet technologies, nanotech lithography, robotics, nano-based next-generation battery technology, precious metals, water rights, oil, natural gas, potash mines, food commodities, and gold mines. You will have the knowledge to consider investments in assets that are inherently useful like oil rigs, hydropower, or methanol plants; things that are hard to build, difficult to replace, and costly to substitute; definitely not financial stocks, definitely not retail stocks, definitely not commercial property.
Another benefit of membership in a wealth creation community is exposure to entrepreneurial leadership and business opportunities. Many of these leaders suggest that if you don’t focus on being a digital entrepreneur, being self-employed, or being a small business owner, it will be a very tough road in the months and years ahead; actually it will be an uphill battle. As a result, the innovative wealth creation communities provide education and training on B2B, and B2C, eCommerce enabling a new breed of professionals that are creating six figure second incomes.
It is wise to monitor breakthrough technology as there are truly exciting developments underway as part of the new way to pay and related business activities. I will continue to monitor developments and provide updates in future articles and at my blog.
Finally, I want to thank Ray Bianco of Technology Profits, published by Agora Financial, as he was the source of some of the materials about the technology advancements mentioned in this post.
Also, a great book to read would be Mobile Marketing: Finding Your Customers No Matter Where They Are by Cindy Krum.
In closing, be sure to Read More of my Posts on my Internet Marketing blog at aspenIbiz BlackBox; Obtain Some Tips About Being No 1 on Google at aspenIbiz My Go-To-Market Partners, my Affiliate website; Learn How to be Savvy with Your Money Like the Insiders at aspenIbiz The Conspiracy For Your Money Blog, and How to Live Longer at aspenIbiz My Life’s Advantage Today site.
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