Mobile Wallets and More Ways to Use Them

There is a rush by many to find the next standard in the Mobile Wallet boom.  This Holiday Season was a window to what we will see in the coming year as retailers try to test the technology on the “early adopters” of the MW technology.  An article in Time Magazine discussed the recent transition of these companies as they try to convert billions of dollars’ worth of transactions to cashless in the coming year.

Here are just a few ways the Mobile Wallet is developing.  Salvation Army Santas used mobile phones to take donations this Christmas season.  Google has just launched Google Wallet in partnership with Citibank, Mastercard and Sprint’s nexus S 4G phone.  PayPal will announce 20 partnerships this year designed to allow you to order ahead, self-check out in stores and simply use your phone number and pin to pay for purchases.  Isis, a Verizon AT&T and T-Mobile wallet with Visa, AmEx, Discover and Mastercard partnerships launches this year in Salt Lake City and Austin.  Visa’s own virtual wallet, V.Me, is also around the corner.  And don’t forget Apple, whose stores are already using the iPhone to checkout customers.

There are a number of different deployment methods from NFC (near filed communications) to text messaging.  Either way, there won’t be a shortage of routes that will be explored.  Estimates are that 12.1 billion dollars will transfer through MW technology in the coming year.  When the dust settles who will set the standard?  Only time will tell…stay tuned.