Plastic card payments will go toe-toe with new-wave wearable technology and smartphones during 2014, said Derick Roberts, CEO of mobile communications specialist, TruTeq Devices, a company boasting clients such as Telkom and Eskom.
“This means credit card companies are going to have to morph if they are going to survive in the future, because you can be sure that consumers will turn to hi-tech gadgets, including smartphones, eschewing traditional plastic card transactions.”
This sentiment has been corroborated by Visa, who highlighted its plans in a presentation focusing on the company’s strategic move into mobile payments at the recent Wavefront Wireless Summit.
Expect payments on plastic to compete with devices such as smartphones, said Derek Colfer, head of mobile innovation at Visa, in his presentation at the Summit.
At the summit Visa launched the first commercial tap and pay network in Canada, allowing retailers and consumers to conduct in-store transactions via mobile devices. With 63% of Canadians already owning smartphones in 2013, 80% will be able to take part in tap and pay, or near-field communications, by 2016.
Colfer further says mobile security is an ongoing concern though – as much as it is for plastic cards.
He states that stolen or lost phones – and interference during transactions – present opportunities for personal financial data theft.
However, the risks are less with mobile devices such as smartphones. If data is stolen its usefulness lapses after one or two transactions, unlike a stolen credit card.
The jury is currently out on whether or not Canadian retailers are ready for tap and play – and whether this new trend will spread.