Online payment coming to brick and mortar

Paying online is becoming easier by the day with so many options to chose from. I reckon I can use credit cards (directly inputting data in fields), PayPal, prepaid cards, my Apple ID, Google Wallet, Bitcoins and the likes, and even air miles. 
On the other end of the spectrum, brick and mortar stores seem to have been stuck in the 1990s. Cash, cheques, credit cards (not always with microchips and PIN codes) and that is about it. Rechargeable NFC cards (stand alone or embedded in mobile phones) have appeared in the last few years but they are limited by competing standards and acceptance. Even ever-modern Japan, where I am based, is plagued my these limitations and there is no dominant new form of payment ("saifu keitai" or "mobile wallet" has not succeeded the transition from feature phone to smartphone)

Recently the competition has heated up for both payment and loyalty cards with the Apple Passbook/ iBeacon combination, Google Wallet (NFC) and of course Square. The most advanced so far seem to be the latter, with its international footprint, cash register options and charismatic leader. It even started making strides in traditionally conservative Japanese mom & pop shops, as their latest online campaign suggests. Paypal has decided to try its luck as well and announced several moves starting almost a year ago with the most interesting announcement last September. I was delighted to learn they were testing that precise technology at my neighborhood electronic store and went to try it out. I was accompanied by my fellow geek and colleague Joe Fry. As images are better than words, Joe shot and edited this video of our test

Despite the gentlemen manning the booth who was initially really surprised to see two foreigners coming just to try out his ware, it was a seamless experience. It "just" replaces the credit card swapping and signing/ entering a PIN number, but it makes a difference. Nowadays many people have smartphones in their pockets and launching an application is trivial and simple. I would say it felt almost natural to pay this way, without having to look for my wallet and not giving away my credit card information to yet another store. I am pretty sure I would not be the only one feeling that way. Additionally, Paypal is a trusted name and I can see how using it around town would be reassuring. And it handles many currencies so using it for international travel would be a possibility. 
I do not know how it translates in terms of fees and money availability for businesses, but it would certainly simplify the process of accepting non-cash payment compared to getting a merchant account and renting a credit card terminal.

As a marketer I can see the potential for finally calculating and analyzing the effectiveness of a campaign from the marketing message (online or offline) down to the actual purchase at the point of sale. As a skeptic, I see traditional businesses (distributors, store chains, credit card companies, cash register and card terminal manufacturers) putting up a fight to avoid change and technological companies continue creating great incompatible systems based on closed standards. 

But as a geek and a consumer, I am very positive with this new development and excited to see new modes of payments more in sync with our modern habits, challenging the status quo. And with the announced arrival of wearable computing, it will make even more sense to ditch cash for an all-digital transaction. There, I bet you my kid may never actually understand why we were making such a fuss about it!