How to make mobile payments easier
(sweet phone bro.)
People have been talking about mobile payments for at least a decade (as noted by the 90’s phone in this post that has premo features like a monochrome screen and redial). Analysts like to quote a person is more likely to notice his phone is missing than his wallet, therefore, money would be better placed in the phone than in the wallet.
Fast forward to today and we are at a point where mobile payments can be made possible.
- We have highly interactive smartphones
- We have well designed apps/marketplaces
- We are pioneering near-field-communication technologies to make contact-less payments
So why aren’t we paying with our mobile phones? Because it’s still too difficult to make a payment with all of these great technologies. There is a lack of adoption on the merchant side and its too much of a paradigm shift for consumers to pull out a phone to make a payment.
However, App Stores are taking baby steps and transitioning us into a mobile friendly world. Apple and Amazon already have our credit card numbers when we sign up for their services. This makes purchasing books or music a 1-click buy. One click and no more. This is where innovative mobile payment technologies need to get inspiration.
Consumers pay with their credit cards because it’s easy. Swiping your card for a pair of $1,000 Gucci’s (FYI I don’t own anything Gucci) is too simple and too quick. So quick that you don’t even feel the sticker shock until 30 days later when you get your statement.
Mobile payment technologies need to be quick, 1-click.
