Starbucks has recently made public that they are launching a new service that will allow customers to pay with their own Smartphone’s through the Starbucks Card mobile app. This application provides a generated picture of the barcode in the back of a Starbucks debit card that can be scanned by the register. The company has stated that this is only the beginning. The service is being developed and in the near future there is hope that it will work through NFC.
This alone gives enough prove of the infinite capabilities that new technologies can favor us with. Gossip has it that Mac is trying to develop the NFC to “carry” your computer in the phone and load it into any Mac platform (laptops, computers) available. So easy, so comfortable, so scary…
This form of payment is only a new innovation in the way of electronic payment. We have had credit money for a long time now. So what will this new service result in?
Research has shown that people spend more when they are paying with credit card than in cash. It’s not the same to see the bills go away one by one, that to pass a piece of plastic through a machine and press “accept”. No more difficult than a kids game. It’s even satisfactory to do it!
We are moving towards a society in which dollars (bills) won’t exist anymore. How will we show our kids the value of money? It’s believed that humans can control their behavior in a better way if they have physical objects that can guide their actions, instead of having to think about it in a conceptual way.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/01/19/starbucks.payment.mashable/
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/11/01/rumor-iphone-5-will-use-nfc-for-remote-computing/
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201001/spending-and-credit-cards
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/01/19/starbucks.payment.mashable/
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/11/01/rumor-iphone-5-will-use-nfc-for-remote-computing/
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ulterior-motives/201001/spending-and-credit-cards
You are correct, mobile payment are just the next logical step in the electronic payment arena. What if find particularly interesting is the psychological impact related to teaching children about money. Perhaps parents should sticking to paper money for their child's allowance.
ReplyDeleteChris
They are also working on a payment/credit model with the banks because the cellphone carriers are thinking of extending their own line of credits and apps to help you with your transactions. However just like any line of credit they are looking for a way to generate a profit as well. They are thinking of perhaps making it part of your cell phone bill if you decide to use their proprietary service/app. One obstacle that keeps coming up is if it is really safe to extend people lines of credit when they can barely pay their cell phone bills sometimes?
ReplyDeleteBetween my drivers license, State ID , School Id, amex, debit card , aaa, costco, blockbuster(yeah still like walking in to rent)and my health insurance card my wallet is full without a dollar in it. this would be a welcomed technology( and in the future it could probably eliminate all these cards). I really dont see any cons except losing u phone. Credit will be given to those who qualify.
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