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There are a rising number of new-age lending fintechs who have been using new-age metrics computed from Big Data analysis of social graph, income v. expenses, social media posts, etc. They've been pooh-poohing credit score as an old-fashioned metric in today's world. Maybe their message is gaining traction. Which could be one answer to the question that forms the title of this article.

"As for rooting, can't say specifically for PayPal but many banking apps will specifically check for this and won't allow the app to be used." When it comes to security, bank - not fintech - seems to be the gold standard LOL!

Before the cybersecuristas run wild with doomsday scenarios, there are 697M debit cards in India, so the 3.2M debit cards affected by this breach works out to 0.46%. Hardly a massive breach...

"The study upends some previously held assumptions about Millennials, including its finding that, despite their digital connectivity, Millennials are extremely guarded about sharing their personal information." Yet another reason why Millennials Might Bankrupt Neobanks.

Will Millennials Bankrupt Neobanks?

@DavidGodfrey: Sorry but I'm confused: In your previous comment, you imply that you went thru' very poor security; in your latest comment, you imply that you went thru' superstrong biometric security. 

@FinextraMember / @DineshKatyal:

ChasePay is a mobile payment offering from a bank and it supports instore payments in USA. 

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161019005338/en/Wakefern-Accept-Chase-Pay

Going by the technology used by my bank in India to support instore mobile payments on its mobile payment app PayZapp, I'd hazard a guess that ChasePay works on QR code.

@DineshKatyal:

TY for your reply. It has equally well been my experience that, since I wrote that post 3 years ago, a number of retailers have replaced plastic loyalty cards with mobile phone #, so the value proposition of the "loyalty card replacement" use case I'd envisaged for mobile wallets in the post has diminished in the meanwhile.

To summarize, mobile wallets are not solving a significant problem - either for payment cards or loyalty cards.

Turning to fitness trackers and smartwatches, they surely blend better than plastic or smartphone form factors for many payment contexts. In theory, they should progressively replace plastic. However, in actual practice, I'm not so sure: In the late 1990s, Singapore implemented a road toll system based on the so-called ERP card. Affixed to the windscreen of a car, ERP let motorists drive at normal speeds past toll booths, with the said toll charge being automatically deducted from the card. By obviating the need to stop and queue up at toll booths, ERP solved a huge problem and truly blended in with the payment context. However, 20 years later, such a payment form factor hasn't become ubiquituous worldwide. Therefore, I'm not so sure of alternative form factors making a big dent into plastic anytime in the forseeable future.

@DavidGodfrey: Your question contains the answer: PayPal. It's not secure. In all probability, if you dispute the payment, your bank will deflect you to PayPal.

"Customer will forget password. Customer will forget hardware token. We must waive our normal security procedures so that they're still permitted to transfer funds. And, hey, if they claim later that it was a fraudulent transfer, we need to refund their money". 

I'd imagine that such a software spec would be right up the alley of a neobank funded by VC money and under no obligation to make revenues or profits.

I totally agree that it won't be any different / better with any traditional bank - in UK or anywhere else in the world.

"It is only a matter of time" will go down as the most oft-used line about mobile payments. I think I first heard it 7 years ago and have been hearing it repeatedly year after year. 3 years ago, I said 

Mobile Wallets: Fix What's Broken - And It Ain't Payments

Good to see it's still the case, as reiterated by Michael Abbott: "The existing payments system isn’t broken, which is why consumers are not making a mass-move to mobile phone payments adoption".

I predict that mobile payments will be replaced by something else well before they succeed in replacing plastic.