We’re barely one week into the second quarter of 2011 and the race is on to declare what new device or technology will be what defines this year. Apple likes to think it’s going to be the iPad 2, we think it’s going to be the flood of dual core smartphones hitting the market starting this summer, but there are a few people out there who say it’s going to be mobile payments, specifically the type that are powered by near field communication (NFC) technology. The ability to pay for goods by doing nothing but swiping your phone at the cash register is an attractive concept, but there’s an entire ecosystem that needs to be built out in order for it to work. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Amazon, the gigantic online store that sells just about anything you’d ever want to own, wants to be the company that solves the mobile wallet problem. They’re not alone. Google is rumored to have teamed up with MasterCard to try and get mobile payments to work. Three out of four of America’s wireless operators have created a new joint venture called Isis and are working with Discover to make mobile payments work. RIM is supposedly doing their own thing. Apple has yet to announce anything, but we’re sure it’ll somehow be linked to iTunes. In short, the whole space is a mess.
Back to that Bloomberg report, it says Amazon wants to get brick and mortar retailers to NFC enable all their items so that you can tap on an item and buy it for cheaper from the internet. Now why would store owners sign up for that? If they get a share of the profit, why not? Amazon could potentially alter the whole concept of what a brick and mortar store can be. Instead of it being a place you go to purchase goods, it can be a place you go to get more information, demo a product, and then order it if you like it.
Like we said: it’s too early to say what 2011 will be the year of, and if it is mobile payments then it’s impossible to predict who the winner or winners will be.