BlueWolf's Howl

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December 12, 2006

Mobile Phone Banking?

Another article in Information Week (11/27/06) discusses Cingular's push to provide mobile phone banking. That's right - you can pay bills, check balances, and transfer funds right from your phone.

Alright...now they're *really* messing with my excuses for late bill paying. Dangit! How the heck are we procrastinators going to survive? [Yes, I'm joking...]

With direct deposit, online banking, and the obsequiousness of merchants who accept any card with a magnetic stripe, we're definitely working our way towards a cashless society. I very rarely carry cash on me. If so, it's usually less than $20. This is not because I'm destitute. It's because I don't really need cash - I need all my money to be in an 'available' balance... and I just swipe some plastic card to purchase whatever I need (or don't need but want).

What we all REALLY need on our phones is a way to keep track of all those swipes! Not all of them are processed quickly - and you can easily lose track of purchases that are not immediately posted. The other thing that it's easy to lose sight of -- automatic recurring bill payments. Now if you could combine those things in an app and put THAT on your cell phone - you'd have one-hellva killer app!

But no one would buy it because it would take all the fun and irresponsibility out of our lives. How do you market THAT?

Today: Enjoy! Swipe and Go!
Tomorrow: Be responsible... mark it down.

Just doesn't have the same ring, does it?

Posted by BlueWolf on December 12, 2006 12:50 PM