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!

No, I don't need to own a car

As mentioned in my previous post, my home is in Tokyo where the cost of living is quite high (see the worldwide ranking for expats here, though I have been here long enough to qualify as a local).
Buying domestic car does not cost much but as you may know, it is only a fraction of the cost of ownership. What hurts particularly is that there is very little parking space and, if you are renting, you have to pay an ungodly amount of money to park you car. Given the fact that I drive only for getaways, to irregular shopping spree or family-related medical appointments, and mass transportation runs on time here, I don't really need a car.
Don't get me wrong, I love driving and powerful, beautiful cars. And don't get me started on automatic gearboxes! It just does not make any economic sense.

Car sharing
Talking with a colleague who is a frequent user, I decided to try out car sharing. Basically it is like renting a car, except that you pay a monthly fee and get to chose what to drive for an all-inclusive price. And as your information is already in the system, it is pretty convenient.
Many services are available in Tokyo and after a bit of research I chose "Times Plus" (details on the car sharing market in this recent article of the Japan Times). They have several stations around where I live and a good choice of cars.
The monthly fee is cheap (1,000 yen/ a bit less than US$10 that are given as a discount on your usage during the month) and there are packages and pays-as-you-go options. Registering took a few minutes online and all I needed is a scan of my driver's license and a credit card. Few days later I got my member's card and I was ready to go.

To select a car I just access the website (or use an app) from whatever machine I use and I can see which cars (small, vans, sports, hybrid, etc) are available where during the time I am interested and book them. What is really fun for a techie is how you get in the car. Your member's card has an embedded RFID chip that opens the car when you swipe it on the windshield!

and the car are easy to find in the parking lot thanks to those plastic banners in front of them

Experience
Then the actual car keys are in the glove box. So easy. Did I mention I could set up the GPS at the time of the booking so that the car is all ready for me when I get in? And the same GPS knows when the car is back at its spot, their big computer knows when the keys are back in the glove box and my card swiped to lock everything. And then I receive an email to confirm I gave the car back.
And the actual cost you may ask? For example a 30km round trip for running some errands taking 3 and half hours, costs a bit less than $30. Not bad, knowing we were 3 in the car.
And by the way, if you take some of your time to fill the tank (more than 20 liters) or get the car washed at one of their partner gas stations (using the loyalty cards available in the car) you receive discounts. How do they know that? Well sensors in the tank and the use of the loyalty card linked to their database. Spooky may be but the incentive is good (15-minute discount for each) and it makes sense for the company as users are helping doing the basic maintenance, lowering the overall cost of the service.

So...
I am really enjoying the service. The cars are new and well taken care of, the customer service responsive and the whole experience is smooth.
On one hand, where I went, from where, for how long, the type of cars I use is logged in their database. By cross referencing with my credit card company or my online social activities they would be able to have pretty good image of my habits. This could be a problem if it got stalked by someone who was after me and able to get to the data. It could always happen but the probability is pretty small (except if I become a very well known and important person but that's another story!).
On the other hand, all these technologies coupled together are offering me a good experience, a useful service at a reasonable price solving a logistical and economical problem I am facing as an urban dweller. And imagine the type of personalized offers they could provide me with if they were smart...

All in all, these new technologies used in a smart way are a boon for us, offering more convenience and lowering costs. Of course we are handing over some information, voluntarily, but the pay off is obvious. As I was mentioning in the previous post, we should remain vigilant of the laws of the land and the T&Cs of the companies to make sure we remain protected and our privacy respected to continue enjoying the benefits of technology. Which brings me to the "Reform Government Initiative" by some tech giants to get governments (especially the US one) to be more transparent, and that is great.
Let's continue enjoy technology but be informed and active citizens!

Subway tokens and leaping forward

I travel a lot for work, mainly in South East Asia. Although I usually take taxis if I am traveling with colleagues, I prefer mass transportation when on my own.

Recently I used the subway in Taipei and Bangkok and could not be more positively impressed. They are clean, runs on time, people are caring for others (elderly, kids, pregnant women) and ads are not too much in your face. And of course, very good 3G and LTE connections, even underground.

What impressed me though is the ticketing system. Both subways are relatively new (2004 for Bangkok and 1996 in Taipei) and have leaped forward technology-wise when compared with older systems. Platforms are all equipped with security doors preventing passengers from falling on the tracks (voluntarily or not), air conditioned, and did not bother with subway tickets. Yes, no tickets. At least not in the shape Europeans and Americans are used to. All tickets are either multi-entry IC cards or tokens, like this one:

Beside the obvious geek factor of playing around with a RFID piece of plastic, it shows a couple of forward looking thinking: future compatibility with additional lines or between subway and other older train systems once they get upgraded, the possibility of embedding the ticket technology into smartphones and other form factors and finally cleanliness (no paper tickets = no littering, durability, more limited long term environmental impact). It is all boils down to more convenience for users in the long term. And gets us close to the internet of things.
Even if you do not speak the language, the token system is instinctive enough to let you find your way around. This simple video shows the efforts that went into making the system easy for foreigners (likewise for Taipei):

When traffic can be bad and moving around in taxis more onerous, this is a good way to help tourists discover the city (spending more money eating and shopping) as well as supporting local workers who can move around more easily and spend more time working and less time commuting.

Making life easier for everybody in big cities (when the global population is becoming more and more urban) is what politicians should be working forward and is definitely a way to support the economy, and more importantly the people in general, and leap frog the Old World, bogged down by legacy systems.

And mass transportation systems are not the only way up and coming countries are leaping forward, telecommunication is too. There not enough money or real reason to develop a wired phone grid in these countries, that is why wireless communication (voice and data) are developing fast (this report is a good summary and this one from ATKearney is more comprehensive). 3G and LTE are everywhere and relatively cheap. Internet access comes through a phone or a tablet screen more often than a computer's and it makes a world of difference. But that will be for another post.

My dear Europe should be worried when looking at up and coming countries like Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia. There is a lot of exciting things happening there. But I am not sure it even wants to look around. Anyway, I will keep looking for other cool technological implementations. Until next time!