Your cellphone can be your RBC ATM
Could your cell phone become your ATM (automatic teller machine)? RBC Royal Bank seems to be moving in that direction. There’s a new mobile payment system by RBC that lets users text money from their mobile phones.
Already, more than 1,100 people have signed up for the RBC Mobex mobile payment service, which was launched last Tuesday for a trial run that wraps up in January with a consumer pilot program yet to be announced. In another technological advance in the works, RBC is lab-testing a system that would let users pay by waving their cellphones at the checkout instead of using a Visa credit card for small purchases.
It almost seems to be beyond the mobile future that Andy Rubin, Engineering Director, of Google foresees:
- Smart alerts:
- Your phone will be smart about your situation and alert you when something needs your attention.
- Augmented reality:
- Your phone uses its arsenal of sensors to understand your situation and provide you information that might be useful.
- Crowd sourcing goes mainstream:
- Your phone is your omnipresent microphone to the world, a way to publish pictures, emails, texts, Twitters, and blog entries.
- Sensors everywhere:
- Your phone knows a lot about the world around you.
- Tool for development:
- Your phone may be more than just a convenience, it may be your livelihood.
- The future-proof device:
- Your phone will open up, as the Internet already has, so it will be easy for developers to create or improve applications and content.
- Safer software through trust and verification:
- Your phone will provide tools and information to empower you to decide what to download, what to see, and what to share.
As Rubin mentions, already there is a incredible acceptance of the mobile phone as a necessary life support system:
There are currently about 3.2 billion mobile subscribers in the world, and that number is expected to grow by at least a billion in the next few years. Today, mobile phones are more prevalent than cars (about 800 million registered vehicles in the world) and credit cards (only 1.4 billion of those). While it took 100 years for landline phones to spread to more than 80% of the countries in the world, their wireless descendants did it in 16. So it’s safe to say that the mobile phone may be the most prolific consumer product ever invented.
Who could argue with that prognosis?
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i will wait
I am one of those people who signed up for the RBC Mobex mobile payment service. If this will push through, online banking will be more convenient for everybody.
Thanks for commenting, Valerie. I assume you find it’s working well so that’s excellent news as you say.
Hello Barry! it’s excellent news indeed. I hope this will push through.
I’m not sure I am ready to bank using my cell phone. Sounds like a good idea – but I’m still a little skeptical.
I am all for mobile payment processing.
Great Post!
We are really loving the idea of mobile banking. I can’t wait for it to become standard.
I’m already using Internet banking for most of my banking transaction and billings. It would be so much better if I can do it on my mobile phone.
dont know where i would be without internet banking so this is a great step forward! just as long as its secure!
I am wondering about all that and I have some serious thoughts to purchase such phone in very beginning. On the other hand, I am wondering what type of security holes we would have? Anyways, it sounds very promising.
It is a promising event of the nearest future, my friend. Electronic communication has been merging with all sorts of services, Television has since interfaced with the Handset and I will not be surprised if as you say ATM services become available on cell phones.
Online banking is already possible by phone, this is a good expectation.
cell phone become your ATM, it’s great idea.
I think they have been doing this in Asia for sometime. However, I am not sure if they have a sensor in the phones or you enter your cell number. I believe it is used quite a bit on vending machines.
Yes, it is getting common now everywhere but do we need hi-fi mobile phones or will all normal phones support mobile banking.