Futuríveis
sexta-feira, novembro 04, 2005
Mobile wallets take off in Japan
...
The idea of a virtual wallet on your handset instead is coming of age and the education process is well under way.
What it means is that you can ditch your smart cards, because they will all be stored on your phone instead.
Shopping for groceries, renting a video, buying a drink, or going to the theatre can all be done now with your mobile.
Edy is the name of the service leading the charge into this brave new world of mobile cash. It began life as a smart card but made the leap onto mobiles last year.
"We're promoting Edy in places where it's more convenient than using cash", said Usoke Oue, a spokesperson for bitWallet which makes Edy.
"We need to communicate the advantages to consumers, not just the convenience factor, but also the fact that you can earn reward points."
You can charge your Edy-enabled handset with up to 50,000 yen (around US$450 or £250).
It can be done in various ways. For example, place your phone against a reader at a charging station and it will take your cash and credit your mobile in return.
You can also load your mobile wallet by using the handset itself to go online and make a transfer directly from your credit card or even your bank.
With your mobile cash in hand you can begin your retail therapy in earnest.
To pay, you just put your mobile against the reader-writer and the goods are yours.
"When you wave the smart card or the phone in front of the reader-writer, a signal is transmitted from the reader-writer to the chip, and it actually interrogates the chip," explains Daniel Scuka from the online publication Wireless Watch Japan.
It finds out how much money is on there and debits the chip for the amount of the transaction.
"The money is transferred from the chip that's on the card of the phone into the merchant's system and more or less immediately into the merchant's bank account."
'Chicken and egg'
While Edy is not a major feature on the High Street yet, its presence is steadily growing. It is now accepted by around 25,000 retailers.
Gerhard Fasol, from the consultancy Euro Technology Japan, says: "Bringing bank transactions into mobile phones, to get that started is like a chicken and egg problem.
"There are big investments necessary and also people have to change their habits. That will only happen if there is a benefit for all parties involved.
"So if only the carriers profit, or only the banks profit, or also if the banks make a loss and only the consumers profit, it will not happen. What has happened in Japan is main industry players here found a formula so that everybody has an advantage from it."
The biggest boost to the mobile wallet will come in January when Edy's rival Suica joins the party.
Suica has millions of commuters already using its smart cards to get through ticket barriers. Once these commuters find they can use a mobile instead it will raise awareness of the potential of the entire system.
"In the coming years people are going to start leaving home in the morning without cash," says Daniel Scuka. "They're going to have their phone, and that's it.
...
BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click Online | Mobile wallets take off in Japan
The idea of a virtual wallet on your handset instead is coming of age and the education process is well under way.
What it means is that you can ditch your smart cards, because they will all be stored on your phone instead.
Shopping for groceries, renting a video, buying a drink, or going to the theatre can all be done now with your mobile.
Edy is the name of the service leading the charge into this brave new world of mobile cash. It began life as a smart card but made the leap onto mobiles last year.
"We're promoting Edy in places where it's more convenient than using cash", said Usoke Oue, a spokesperson for bitWallet which makes Edy.
"We need to communicate the advantages to consumers, not just the convenience factor, but also the fact that you can earn reward points."
You can charge your Edy-enabled handset with up to 50,000 yen (around US$450 or £250).
It can be done in various ways. For example, place your phone against a reader at a charging station and it will take your cash and credit your mobile in return.
You can also load your mobile wallet by using the handset itself to go online and make a transfer directly from your credit card or even your bank.
With your mobile cash in hand you can begin your retail therapy in earnest.
To pay, you just put your mobile against the reader-writer and the goods are yours.
"When you wave the smart card or the phone in front of the reader-writer, a signal is transmitted from the reader-writer to the chip, and it actually interrogates the chip," explains Daniel Scuka from the online publication Wireless Watch Japan.
It finds out how much money is on there and debits the chip for the amount of the transaction.
"The money is transferred from the chip that's on the card of the phone into the merchant's system and more or less immediately into the merchant's bank account."
'Chicken and egg'
While Edy is not a major feature on the High Street yet, its presence is steadily growing. It is now accepted by around 25,000 retailers.
Gerhard Fasol, from the consultancy Euro Technology Japan, says: "Bringing bank transactions into mobile phones, to get that started is like a chicken and egg problem.
"There are big investments necessary and also people have to change their habits. That will only happen if there is a benefit for all parties involved.
"So if only the carriers profit, or only the banks profit, or also if the banks make a loss and only the consumers profit, it will not happen. What has happened in Japan is main industry players here found a formula so that everybody has an advantage from it."
The biggest boost to the mobile wallet will come in January when Edy's rival Suica joins the party.
Suica has millions of commuters already using its smart cards to get through ticket barriers. Once these commuters find they can use a mobile instead it will raise awareness of the potential of the entire system.
"In the coming years people are going to start leaving home in the morning without cash," says Daniel Scuka. "They're going to have their phone, and that's it.
...
BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click Online | Mobile wallets take off in Japan
posted by CMT, 11:47 da manhã
