A peak at the future campus IDs – mobile payments, cloud computing
January 3, 2013
Grazed from NFCNews. Author: Emil Bonaduce.
Let’s get to the point: plastic ID cards used for transactions are going to be around for a long time. Sure, smart phones are amazing. We’ve seen phones utilizing NFC technology buy sodas in ultra-tech environments. Just bump your phone and transfer personal data. It’s so cool and easy, why don’t we just do it, now, today!
Don’t get me wrong, the penetration of the transaction market via smart phones has only just begun, and its use as a percentage of the total market including cash, prepaid, credit card and other, will increase exponentially. However, the expanding transaction market will continue to drive plastic card growth as well. Of all things, the major credit card processors plan to push chip cards in the U.S., the last bastion of mag stripe cards in the developed world. The growth of plastic cards will grow at a decreasing rate, but not halt and decline…
The biggest issue is standards. NFC is touted as the logical choice for communicating securely from buyer through bank to seller. Unfortunately, NFC suffers from the constant jockeying between stakeholders concerning standards. Who gets the upper hand? The chip manufacturers, platform providers – Apple, Microsoft, Google – banks, and cell carriers all compete for technology that makes them relevant in the transaction space. Think Betamax vs. VHS and iPhone versus Android. Consumers love open systems and companies develop closed and proprietary systems. It’s an epic battle and who will win is uncertain…
Read more from the source @ http://www.nfcnews.com/2013/01/03/a-peak-at-the-future-campus-ids-mobile-payments-cloud-computing