Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Blogs Google Watch
    • Blogs
    • Google Watch
    • Search Engines

    Google’s Schmidt Predictably Bullish on NFC Tap and Pay

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    June 24, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      It’s no surprise that a Google executive would be pounding the tablet for tap-and-pay mobile payment solutions powered by near-field communications.

      The company one month ago introduced its Google Wallet NFC mobile payment solution, which is expected to go live in New York and San Francisco soon. Yesterday, Google said it was testing NFC-based ratings and review base stations in Japan, perhaps the NFC capital of the world.

      Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt reiterated the company’s bullish position on tap-and-pay at the Cannes Lions ad conference June 22, telling attendees that a third of check-out terminals in retail stores and restaurants will be upgraded to allow consumers to tap and pay from their smartphones within the next year.

      Schmidt added that Google is pushing payment processors (other than Google Wallet partners Citigroup MasterCard, presumably) to upgrade a third of their terminals. This, according to the Financial Times account, will be sufficient for wide adoption of the technology. Schmidt explained:

      “I judge that based on how long I think it takes, because the terminals are available now, the software is available now or this summer. How long does it take an infrastructure player to upgrade a significant percentage of their infrastructure – it’s on the order of a year, it’s not a week, it’s not a month but it’s also not five years. … It’s an educated guess.“

      In a way, we’re all just guessing here. It’s a new paradigm, admittedly a super lucrative one. Ideally, Schmidt said a mobile payment terminal uptick would pave the way for a “trillion-dollar” business. PayPal said yesterday mobile payments for its own business alone would comprise $3 billion for 2011.

      How do we know this market is potentially huge? One of the big infrastructure barriers in my opinion is that most phones simply do not have NFC chips required for tap and pay systems. So how do we address this? Narrate sprang up from almost nowhere (well, they’ve been quiet since forming in 2009) to address this gulf with ultrasonic-enabled NFC.

      This solution could be brilliant, but it could also be a bust. Regardless of which way it goes, it goes to show that even though the market has yet to be aggressively defined, alternatives are coming out to enable mobile payment sans those NFC chips used in the Samsung Nexus S 4G used for Google Wallet.

      I have no quibble with the idea that merchants will get in on this action going forward or that mobile payments will be huge. What Schmidt didn’t address is the consumer demand for this; I just don’t see it.

      Remember that old adage? You can lead a horse to water. … There is no guarantee consumers will gulp from the mobile payment pond to warrant the widespread adoption.

      People, the vast majority anyway, are more comfortable lugging wallets and purses than subscribing to new, unproven payment services that leverage their credit card info through their phones.

      Right now it exists for niche cases — Starbucks loyalty cards, where coffee lovers download an iPhone (and now Android) application to manage their card purchases, may be the best example — and that’s not even NFC-enabled.

      Clint Boulton

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×