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A Move To Bypass Carriers For Mobile Payment

Written by Evan Schuman
January 9th, 2009

As mobile payments try to pick up steam in the United States—an economy that today can be described as remarkably steam-free—retailers are mixed about whether mobile payments are indeed viable. But one vendor is trying a new tactic: bypassing telecom carriers by directly using Bluetooth for transactions.

A nice piece in the American Banker details the ways that Bluetooth could be easier to deploy than near field communication (NFC). Much of the problem in the United States is financial and working out compensation plans that please telecom carriers, phone manufacturers, credit card companies and retailers. Getting even two of those groups to cooperate is difficult enough.

Posted in E-Commerce, Mobile/Wireless/Contactless, Payment Systems
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