Canadians are all about digital technology. From tablets to smartphones, Canadians are leading the way in adopting technology. Indeed, The Gazette in Montreal reports:
"Canadians are leaders when it comes to adapting latest technologies," said Ron Caughlin, vice-president of TNS Canada. "As part of this, we're seeing a real mind shift. It's no longer what my technology does; it's what I can do with my technology."
And there is plenty that a mobile device can do for you. From allowing you to keep up with your friends through social media, to helping you manage your budget, smartphones and tablets can be quite useful. Canadians know this, and are ready to adapt. And this includes using their mobile devices as digital wallets.
Canadians Ready to Use Mobile Devices as Credit Cards
Already, according to The Gazette, 10 per cent of Canadians are using their phones as wallets of some sort, and nearly 40 per cent have expressed interesting in making use of a digital wallet. It's really hard to beat the ability to make payments right from your phone.
Right now, many retailers and others are not prepared to accept Canadian credit card payment via phone. Such a transaction requires near field communication readers that allow you to wave your tablet or smartphone in front of the reader -- without making contact. The best many can do right now at the store is to have their cards stored as some sort of barcode that can be read.
Of course, the story is different when it comes to doing it all from your phone. You can search for what you want online with a mobile device, and then pay for it all from your phone. This ability to search, shop and pay, all from your smartphone or tablet, provides a great opportunity for you to enjoy the convenience of having everything you need all in one device.
Canadians Lead the Way
It is clear that Canadians are ready to lead the way in this world of technological revolution. After all, carrying around one device is so much easier than carrying around several. Mobile devices are becoming advanced enough that they can replace your camera, music player, GPS, and other devices with one technological piece that can do it all. You can even do word processing and check your email with some of these mobile devices! And the next step is for your smartphone or tablet to act as a credit card. With all of these developments coming, it is exciting to know that Canadians will be early adopters, showing others what cool things technology can do.
Image source: Glenn Fleishman via Wikimedia Commons
This post was included in the Carnival of Wealth at Personal Dividends, and the Canadian Finance Carnival at Canadian Finance Blog.
I don’t think any place in Nova Scotia lets you pay via your phone yet, at least I’ve never seen or heard of it yet. Perhaps in Ontario, though. Is Square available in Canada. Things made in and for the US usually take foooorrrever to reach and be adopted in Canada, it seems.
This one is not going to take forever. Even in Canada. Now that almost everyone has a phone, end-users are really going to like the convenience of using their phones to pay for things. And for businesses it will be like accepting credit cards. Their customers are going to want to use their phones and businesses that don’t accept payment by phone risks losing those customers to a business that does.
A significant concern is the potential of cybercriminals to get on to those phones and like a pickpocket, steal your wallet. A smart phone is a computer. A small one, but a pretty powerful computer. My company (Symantec) wrote a paper on the risks of cell phones.
http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20110627_02
We have not stopped using computers because of malware. Nobody should get scared and not use their phone as a digital wallet. But they should be aware of the risks.