From: "Antti Kurenniemi" 

Yeppers, that's exactly it. There are bus fare card widely used here that
work like that, just swipe it close to some reader and that's it, as long
as there's money loaded into the card. I think it's a wee bit strange to
put something like that in the phone, because the way I see it the coolest
thing about paying by phone is that you need nothing special, just the
phone. Maybe the lamest thing is, obviously, that it takes a few seconds of
thumb-acrobacy to send the SMS (or dial the number), but other than that
it's quite nice.


Antti Kurenniemi

"Thees Peereboom"  wrote in message
news:op.s6r8p9gc2hvhrx{at}jansons...
> Antti,
>
> But this is different, I think. Dave's msg was about actually using the
> phone as a card, while you, if I get your right, use SMS or dial a
> specific number to pay, right? We use that here, too. Especially for
> parking.
>
> - Thees Peereboom
>
> On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 18:21:21 +0100, Antti Kurenniemi
>  wrote:
>
>> It's less stuff to carry around (I don't like dragging a wallet with me,
>> especially in the summer), and you get all your payments detailed in the
>> phone bill, which is kinda nice and clear. I regularly pay my parking and
>> bus fare with my phone, and sometimes I rent a DVD from the local kiosk
>> and
>> pay it with my phone.  We've also got a lot of soda / candy / map /
>> coffee
>> dispensers here and there from which you can order the goods with your
>> phone. Oh, and none of these require any special phone or anything like
>> that, I don't really get that part - it almost destroys the whole idea
>> IMO.
>>
>>
>> Antti Kurenniemi
>>
>> "Dave Ings"  wrote in message
news:44202312{at}w3....
>>> Maybe one of our European friends can explain what the big deal is about
>>> paying by phone, from the consumer's point of view. So I swipe my phone
>>> over a reader instead of swiping a piece of plastic. So what? I'm really
>>> not getting what's interesting and useful here.
>>>
>>> Given how often people lose their phones (almost as often as umbrellas
>>> it
>>> seems!) I'm not at all convinced converging your credit or debit card
>>> and
>>> your phone is a good idea.
>>>
>>>
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/technology/21cell.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
>>>
>>> ATLANTA, March 16 - Roy Peek had about $40, three credit cards and a
>>> debit
>>> card in his wallet. But to pay for a Coke and a slice of pizza here at a
>>> Philips Arena concession stand, he whipped out his cellphone.
>>> "With this, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to stop
at an A.T.M.,"
>>> said Mr. Peek, shortly after tapping the device against a coaster-size
>>> terminal that flashed lights and beeped as it billed his credit card
>>> account.
>>>
>>> He is one of about 150 consumers who can use specially equipped mobile
>>> phones inside the arena as part of a study by a group of payment and
>>> wireless companies. "Once I'm hungry, I am going to use
my phone for
>>> food," Mr. Peek said.
>>>
>>> The promise of phones that double as digital wallets is not new.
>>> Consumers
>>> in many Asian and European countries have bought everything from
>>> convenience store trinkets to subway tickets using their mobile handsets
>>> for years. But the idea has largely been a gadget geek's fantasy here in
>>> the United States.
>>>
>>> Only recently have American banks and wireless companies begun
>>> developing
>>> mobile payment products. Now, the next wave of technology could wash
>>> ashore within two years.
>>> --
>>> Regards,
>>> Dave Ings,
>>> Toronto, Canada
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>

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