Both PayPal and Google executives are adamant that near-field communication (NFC) technology enabled mobile devices will lead to tremendous successes with mobile payments.
According to executive chairman Eric Schmidt of Google, he anticipates that within the next twelve months, one third of all retail store and restaurant checkout terminals will have been upgraded in order to be able to receive NFC mobile payments by way of their customers’ mobile devices.
He stated that “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.” He also mentioned that many other mobile phone manufacturers such as Apple, LG, Sony Ericsson, and Research In Motion (maker of the BlackBerry) would also soon be selling phones that are equipped with NFC chips. He added that these phones would also function with Google Wallet.
Many believe that this hyper-confidence displayed by Schmidt has been carefully designed, as Google has a lot at stake with this technology. Google Wallet was introduced only in May 2011, offering a mobile payment service that is beginning in San Francisco and New York City.
Google’s primary mobile payment competition is considered to be PayPal, which is also pushing hard in that field. PayPal Mobile’s senior director, Laura Chambers, has also been highly enthusiastic about the future of this technology. That company is now anticipating that this year alone will bring in $3 billion in mobile payment transactions.
She explained that this technology is exploding at an unanticipated rate, and that they didn’t even come close to understanding its potential at the time of its initial development in 2006.
