How Far Are We From Real Mobile Commerce?

A buddy of mine sent over the photo below from Jan Chipchase, who runs one of the most interesting photo blogs I’ve seen. Think about the photo for a moment — a parking meter that works via a mobile phone. Actually the parking meter isn’t activated by the mobile, rather you call a number to pay. Jan’s post also displays a Japanese bus that takes payments via mobile device.

Yesterday Dan created a list of the things he would like to see in the next generation of the iPhone. Many of the things he wants are already available today in other mobile devices but he likes the interface of the iPhone.

With mobile devices beginning to get "smarter" why can’t they get "way smarter" with regards to commerce? We’ve written about QR barcodes several times before and the possibilities they offer with regards to advertising and marketing offers. But what about commerce? Could the mobile device replace any electronic swipe?

My apartment building uses an electronic key to let me into the building. Here is a list of all of the cards in my wallet – how many are in your wallet or purse?

• drivers license
• social security card
• grad school college id (hey it helps me look young and pimp)
• bank card
• credit card
• metrocard for the city I am currently in
• cvs rewards card
• duane reade rewards card
• local supermarket rewards card
• AAA card
• health care card

How many of these cards could be replaced with an intelligent smartphone? If you are in NYC, have you ever tried to board a crosstown bus in rush hour? Each person has to drop their metrocard into the slot, wait for it to come back, look at the display to check their balance then move on. Half of the time it sucks the card back again causing even more of a delay. Now let’s imagine a smart bus where as you step on, an "x-ray" style pole lights up green if your mobile device shows the correct pass for entry. From my research and actually timing the entry on the M79, it could save 5-9 minutes for each avenue stop during the busiest periods. London has the Oyster card which is a smart card but it’s still a physical card you must carry around.

And that’s the most basic example – the list of transactions that could be replaced by mobile smart commerce is endless.

It’s easy to say that this won’t work because every vendor uses a different technology. Boo on that is what I say. Look at bar codes, every manufacturer is forced to use the same so their item will scan and they can be paid. Look at keyboards – all of them use the same connector, because they know at the computer end it will only accept one kind. Why can’t the same be said for wireless electronic devices?

The biggest hurdle is the mobile device contract. If you purchase a mobile today without this smart commerce technology, it will take years to potentially move you into a device that includes the technology.

The possibilities are endless once the mobile phone and smart commerce come together. Until then we are stuck with credit cards that only think they are smart.