Wholesale Applications Community's Mobile Payment Plan - The UpStream

Wholesale Applications Community's Mobile Payment Plan

posted Friday Mar 2, 2012 by Scott Ertz

Wholesale Applications Community's Mobile Payment Plan

It has been almost 2 years since I first wrote about the founding of the Wholesale Applications Community and their 24 original members. Today, the organization has over 60 members and an even stronger focus on open standards for the wireless industry. The project they are currently tackling is the increasingly interesting wireless payment problem.

We know that Google Wallet has had some problems, and Paypal wants in, but there is a flaw in both of these platforms: you have to attach an outside funding source. WAC aims to change that.

How do they plan to accomplish this goal? Hit the break to find out.

WAC believes that the proper way to make purchases with your mobile phone is by charging it to the account you already have paired with the device - your carrier account. We know that carriers are comfortable with being the go-between for purchases, as they handle ringtones, applications and other outside services currently, so adding the ability to charge your bar tab to your AT&T account isn't a crazy idea.

AT&T is excited about this move, saying in a press release,

The significance of this development is that consumers will buy more with easy billing and vendors can benefit from spontaneous buying. This development could encourage other vendors to provide similar offers. It could impact business models, billing mechanisms and app storefronts. It could encourage WAC members to move faster on their offerings. It also challenges businesses to adapt technologies in a more dynamic approach!

It is definitely a different way of thinking about payments. Why add another level of possible fraud, like having your credit card information stored on your phone, when you can let Sprint and Verizon deal with all of that hassle on their end, right?

It is an interesting idea, but would you use it? Are there limits to what types of purchases you might make that T-Mobile could see? Let us know in the comments section.

Advertisement

Login to CommentWhat You're Saying

Be the first to comment!

We're live now - Join us!
PLUGHITZ Keyz

Email

Password

Forgot password? Recover here.
Not a member? Register now.
Blog Meets Brand Stats