Despite the promise of mobile payments the practice has never quite taken off. Australian banks – and plenty of institutions overseas – have experimented with contactless transaction. But the apps have never broken into the mainstream.
A start-up called Coin in the US has debuted a new method for making payments. Using a digital credit card and a mobile app, users can load all of their credit, debit and loyalty card information onto the device – which looks exactly like a credit card. When you want to use it, its a matter of tapping a small dial on the card to identify which credit account you want to use, and swipe it in a machine like a normal card.
Whether or not this particular product succeeds, the delay among the general public in accepting mobile payments is telling. This particular product is built on the security of having physical cards, rather than abandoning everything for a contactless solution.
However, this, combined with products like Square, show there continues to be innovation within the mobile payment space. Apple has registered several patents surrounding mobile payments. Retailers and businesses should be aware of these changes, as while they may take some time to become popular, there is no doubt customers want a bigger variety of payment methods and technology – digital or otherwise.
Book scanning – Harmful disruption or education?
The debate about book scanning has plagued Google for years. The company’s aim to create a digital repository of knowledge has rubbed several publishing groups – including authors – the wrong way. The issue has been in and out of courts for years.
Which makes today’s decision by a New York court all the more interesting. A judge has ruled Google’s act of scanning books constitutes ‘fair use’, and so the company is allowed to keep doing it.
The judge said the book project “advances the progress of the arts and sciences, while maintaining respectful consideration for the rights of authors and other creative individuals”.
The issue is similar to that in other aspects of the entertainment industry – what happens when content is given away for free? The television and film markets have had to deal with this for years, and are only just getting ahead. Books, on the other hand, have been mostly protected through the rise of cheap and accessible eBooks.
The challenge then becomes creating more value around the book buying experience – a challenge all industries are facing as content grows more free and unprotected. Businesses embracing digital change need to think more about the process of buying and the actual value associated with that act rather than viewing the product itself as the most important factor in the buying equation.
Regulating the virtual world
After several years of performing without any regulation or guidance, the state of New York has now said it will hold talks to discuss financially regulating the virtual currency Bitcoin.
“Our public hearing will review the interconnection between money transmission regulations and virtual currencies,” the New York Department of Financial Services said in a statement.
The move isn’t surprising, as the unregulated state of Bitcoin would eventually have required some move on behalf of government. But it represents yet again how difficult new digital business models have become for governments. Yesterday we touched on n new models such as the sharing economy, which have prompted government action in some parts of the United States. Virtual currencies, as they gain steam, will attract the same sort of legislative attention.
Such movement then creates problems for businesses. Do they risk jumping in with new trends while their popularity is on the rise – or wait for governments to introduce more regulations and safety before committing to new, digital strategies?
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