Swipe or Tap: Your Choice

So here’s a video on the latest development in monetary transaction: using your phone. According to this video, instead of having to break out your wallet, find the debit or credit card, clumsily (if you're me) try to slide it the correct way through the machine, punch in the pin, then put it back in your wallet, and try to put it back in your pocket while looking subtle and if you know what you're doing, you'll be able to use your smartphone instead and tap a receiver. Pretty cool right?

This is pretty crucial because a good 35% of the US adults use smartphones already and having the ability to put financial transactions will only add to online banking and other electronic services such as PayPal and the Intuit Company which makes applications like TurboTax and Mint.com, a practical monetary tracker. Companies such as Wal-Mart, Google, Target and others are in the run to use this sort of transaction processing, making it easier on them.

While there are companies that try to combine credit cards and smartphones (like the GoPayment device from Intuit and the Card Reader from Square) Google, MasterCard, and Citicard are the ones leading the way with the new Google Wallet application, a service that safely and securely takes care of all your financial needs. To use it, download the Google Wallet mobile app. However, it only works with the Nexus S 4G  by Google for Sprint customers.

Since Visa dropped out of the mobile world in September, there are two main options to use. The first is for Citi customers on their MasterCard, and for all other users, you have to load money onto what is called the Google prepaid card, which (as you might guess) is a prepaid card linked to your Google account if you have one. It’s a pretty fast system, and if made simple enough, could be pretty efficient over time.

Of course there are some concerns. As I was reading it, my immediate gut check was how secure could a system be that broadcasted my financial information over a phone network would be scary. But because it is a mobile app, the same security systems apply as the secured sites on the Internet like your online banking or PayPal account, both of which are trustworthy. So it’s just as safe as doing everything else online. Google addressed this in their FAQ which convinced me of its trustworthiness.

Overall, is this a good thing for the world? Not yet. For me, I carry a lot more than just my money in my wallet, as do most people. In my wallet I carry my driver’s license, my military ID, my punch-cards, my gift cards, my receipts, and a picture of my sweetheart. Those are all pretty crucial items, and it will take a little more programming to get me to ditch the old leather. As I write this though, nearly all of those could be electronically replicated and authenticated in time (minus the sweetheart.) And since we're talking about a mobile wallet today, I'll bet my money that the rest will follow in the next few years.

Just make sure you bring your power cord.