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Banks shouldnt feel forced to place all their bets on one platform or another. In the shorter term, successful future models of banking will be hybrids.
November 27 -
"I would use this," Mom said, "if there was a place nearby that accepted it." Mobile adoption confronts the classic chicken-or-egg conundrum.
November 21 -
Look ma, no hands (or mag stripe): Sporting eyewear with a built-in camera, a cashier or flea market vendor could accept a payment card simply by looking at it.
April 9
Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on PaymentsSource's
Google's rapid-fire rollout of KitKat, the latest version of its Android mobile operating system, is likely to enroll a substantial number of new users to the company's mobile wallet. But the burning question is: once we're all signed up, what is Google's next step?
The deployment of KitKat is especially noteworthy because it's happening so fast much of the coverage of Google's software highlights how
The previous iteration of the operating system Versions 4.1-4.3, collectively known as Jelly Bean still holds 54.5% share of Android devices, according to
As soon as KitKat arrived on my Moto X handset via AT&T, the operating system prompted me to approve tap-and-pay payments for Google Wallet. There was no further enrollment because Google Wallet absorbed the online payment system
To pay at the point of sale, a user just has to unlock the phone. The software does not require the user to open the Google Wallet app, though it may prompt for a PIN if the consumer hasn't used Google Wallet recently. When testing the app, I held my phone against the contactless card reader at a grocery store, and a receipt popped up on my screen just as a paper receipt printed out at the cash register. That was pretty much it.
The sign-up process is eased by Google's implementation of
These three carriers also back the Isis mobile wallet, which relies on NFC and requires an enhanced SIM card.
So Google clearly has streamlined the sign-up and payment processes. But it has a lot of work still cut out for it.
There are some obvious drawbacks to using Google Wallet as a consumer. One issue is related to Google's use of
If a credit card issuer provides rewards for shopping at a certain category of merchant, the consumer may not earn those rewards when using that card to fund a Google Wallet purchase. Google is passing the merchant's name along to the card issuer, and in my test the grocery store's name appeared on my credit card statement, but
The virtual card account also raises some confusing customer service issues. For example, when a consumer makes a return, in "rare cases," Google will
Another major issue is Google Offers. Many mobile wallet initiatives rely heavily on offers and discounts to entice consumers to use a phone to pay instead of using a card.
Google Offers' independence from Google Wallet may have been necessary when Google Wallet wasn't available on AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile phones. But Google Wallet is finally bridging the gap.
Right now, my plastic card's rewards program is the deciding factor in whether to swipe my card or tap my phone. And because consumers can't be sure that a card's issuer will properly apply rewards when using Google Wallet, Google has to make Google Offers more compelling than any issuer's built-in rewards program.
Google Wallet has undergone several major revisions since it launched, and the product today
Daniel Wolfe is the editor in chief of PaymentsSource.