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This was the famous question asked of Richard “Tricky Dicky” Nixon in the 1960 presidential campaign – implying he could not be trusted.
Last week when I was buying a used car, how would I know I could trust the small privately owned garage offering me a good price on a desirable car?
When the dealer suggested that I pay for the car by sending the money direct to his bank account via faster payments I was convinced - here was a man I could trust!
To really enhance the overall experience I paid on my mobile phone using the First Direct App, which was not only highly convenient but it did not cost a penny in fees or banking charges.
As if to complete my journey into the brave new world of mobile payments, I needed a new spare key cut, and when I came to pay the mobile locksmith he presented his Bluetooth Chip & PIN terminal linked to his iPhone- this was my first sight of such terminals being used outside of an exhibition hall.
When used car dealers would rather take direct account to account transfer than cash, and mobile locksmiths are equipped with mobile POS, then mobile payments have really come of age.
Quick update on trust.
The chap who came to buy my old car brought a brown envelope full of used £20 notes to pay for it. Do I trust him?
PS. This also meant my first visit to a bank btanch for a long time. Thse places are so depressing.
The second payment clearly involved a plastic card. Had the first payment been made from a desktop / laptop, would it be called "desktop payment" or "laptop payment"? Not to rekindle old debates that took place here and here, but I submit that neither of these payments qualifies as a mobile payment.
That said, these two examples do signal the growing popularity of mobile commerce. BTW, even if the brown bag buyer is not trustworthy, there's a mobile app that can help authenticate his banknotes, thus providing one more way to popularize mobile commerce!
Ketharaman,
Both the payments were made when one party was “mobile” – the first I was as the dealers garage, the second was when the locksmith was at my house.
Without the “mobile” element then neither payment would have been as convenient, and other channels devices such as telephone banking or zip-zap machine (remember those) would have been needed.
This is my definition of “mobile”.
For the last case – even though the notes were genuine, could I still trust the buyer?
@PaulL: I guess we can all have our own definitions of mobile payment! When I bought an apartment, my lawyer pored over the title deeds with a fine toothcomb whereas, when I sold the same apartment, the same lawyer told me not to bother about anything as long "as the greenbacks are green". Maybe it's only me, but when I'm the seller in an unregulated, one-off product category like automobile, I'd put a tick in the trust box as long as the banknotes I get in return are genuine.
VP Business Development
Konsentus
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