Mobile payments are important for reasons more than “payment.” Though much of the attention now seems to be focused on ways to replace a plastic payment card with a mobile phone, that ultimately will not drive most of the value, many believe.
Instead, it might be more about ways to redefine “commerce” to account for “always on” devices carried by people who can use those devices in new ways.
When a user walks into a store, all of that user’s shopping lists, loyalty, couponing, comparison shopping and social networks will available, interacting on a real-time basis, in a dynamic way, in a present space way, with a particular retailer.
“I don’t think there’s any question that the payments industry is going to be going through a fundamental transformation over the next three to five years,” says Dan Schulman, American Express Group President for Enterprise Growth. “The move from physical to digital will be a prime driver of that. ”
