mobile phones will soon replace credit cards
Without
conducting any survey one can easily predict that the ubiquitous mobile phone
would be the most prioritized among things one cannot live without. In the late
1990s when mobile phones were launched, no one would have ever remotely even
imagined, these amazing devices would one day become the greatest invention of
all time in the field of communication, information, and the endless list of
other applications. Mobiles are adding on new characteristics, to its initial
communication image, on a regular basis. Lately, it has enabled another feature
by filling in the shoes of credit cards. Now one can swipe one’s mobile phone
to pay bills in restaurants, shopping malls, railway stations, etc., to
transform itself as an e-wallet.
Atom
Technologies, the company from India
that is behind the invention of software which can duplicate the function of a
credit card in mobiles claims that the software is capable of burning the
user’s credit card data to a mobile phone. The data would be stored in a 2D
barcode format and cannot be read even by the user, thereby secures the handset
from misuse in an event it is lost or stolen. Besides, authentication in the
form of PIN number is required for payment order. The mobile credit card
payment or ‘optical payment’ as termed by its inventors, can be used at any
business center which accepts credit cards, and has the requisite software with
a webcam that could read the 2D barcode.
It is also
loaded with another payment mode called remote location or over the air
authentication, by which the user can use the cards sitting at home or office.
In this case, the merchant establishment and the bank are connected over the
air and the user will have to authenticate and approve the purchase. Currently,
the system will work only on Java-enabled phones. Though the company would be
levying a percentage of the transactions as its fee, the software will be
provided without any additional cost to the commercial establishments including
Banks, shopping malls, hospitals, etc.
In addition
to the above technology, there are already two players who mimic the functions
of the credit/debit card over an SMS, they are mChek and Paymate. mChek has
already been conferred with the prestigious Global Mobile Award for the most
innovative application during the recent GSM World Congress held in Barcelona in February,
2008.
Both
provide services akin to that of a credit/debit card by storing details on a
secure server, and once one is registered, one is issued a PIN number. This
e-wallet has security features what one gets on an ATM, if one were to enter
the wrong PIN three times, one’s account gets blocked, besides that,
transaction limit is also enabled on the phone. Major benefit of such an
e-wallet is they thoroughly eliminate the number of plastic cards one carries
around.
These
latest innovations in mobile phone technology are also offering services
including money transfer, mobile remittance, bank check clearance, ticket
reservation , etc. All these mobile phone technologies indicate that one’s phone
is not only just an entertainment and navigation tool anymore but also an
e-wallet.
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Tags: 2d barcode, Authentication, barcode format, business center, communication information, credit card payment, credit cards, greatest invention, handset, initial communication, inventors, mobile credit card, mobile phones, payment mode, pin number, prioritized, railway stations, shopping malls, swipe, wallet
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