Your Mobile Phone is Now Your Debit Card

In Asia and Europe, mobile phone users have enjoyed advanced features not yet available to those of us in North America. One of those features is making debit payments directly from a mobile phone.  That feature is about to expand into North America.

Google’s Android mobile operating system, for example, will soon offer a new debit system called mPayy that will simplify the purchasing process down to a press of a button on your smart phone. For some, this kind of transaction may seem unsecure, but the developers promise a level of encryption that’s better than traditional debit cards and meets a higher standard than that used by credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard.

mPayy and its ilk will be a huge opportunity for mobile web sites that wish to conduct e-commerce transactions but cannot afford to build an extensive financial back-end.

As more people access the web through their mobile device, we can only expect more commerce to be conducted there and, where there is commerce, there is advertising. The small screen is moving beyond a simple phone to become your computer, your TV and your ATM; that’s a lot of power in every pocket or purse. Our buying patterns are going change too as we will be able to purchase any item over the mobile web whenever and wherever it fancies us. It won’t be long before your date — over a latte at Starbucks — says: “Hey look, I just bought that killer 60-inch plasma screen TV I wanted. Can you pass the sugar please?”

According to research firm IDC, an estimated $8-trillion of global commerce took place over the internet in 2009. That figure is expected to double by 2013 and much of that growth will be traced to mobile.

Stay tuned to see where this is all heading. The next few years are going to have us looking at our mobile devices more and more and the marketing industry is going to have to stay on top of emerging trends. Maybe we should also be on the lookout for thumb exercises.

- Jim Kabrajee, Partner, jimk@marshall-fenn.com