We’ve been talking about mobile payments for years now and even though some think it may be about four to six years away from the tipping point, a Visa executive said we could see some interesting developments within two years.
During an interview at CTIA 2012, Brad Greene, senior business leader mobile, said that Visa has been paving the way for this transition for years and we’re seeing the fruits of that labor with things like V.Me. While it wants to be your destination for digital money, it will also partner with other companies that enable mobile money.
“For Visa, mobile payments are a reality today,” Greene said.
He predicted that there will be multiple technology winners for mobile payments but NFC will be the key. Not only will it enable swipe to pay, it also provides a secure experience. He also said that other technologies will carve out a market and that Visa’s platform is smart enough to handle whatever that “last inch” of mobile payments may use.
“I think it’s going to be the closest thing we see for a global standard,” Greene said about NFC.
While ditching your wallet is nice, Greene said mobile payments aren’t going to be successful without “value-added services.” This includes strict security, instant account balance information, mobile coupons and more. Visa also have a great relationship with merchants, so it may be able to have stores get on board with mobile payments.
I’ve heard a lot of promising things about mobile payments but still haven’t seen mainstream traction. I guess it’s encouraging that I’m seeing a lot of Google Wallet options in San Francisco.
When do you think mobile payments will take off?