There is a pretty big bet yet to be won before mobile commerce can become a reality, and that is the issue of mobile payments.

I had previously written an older article about the mobile wallet, and had also mentioned about this NFC payments trial there. We now have an update from the NFC trial:

This trial, said to be the first of its kind nationwide, combined in a single mobile phone multiple payment types, marketing and account management. Two hundred and thirty regular riders of the BART system were issued Near-Field Communication-enabled Sprint phones for a four-month trial. Those mobile phones became the payment method at BART stations and Jack in the Box restaurants across San Francisco. So-called smart posters located in the BART terminals let the participants tap their phones to get directions to the nearest Jack in the Box.

“It really shows that the necessary players in the mobile commerce landscape can work together to implement the necessary infrastructure and create a successful trial that has potential for full deployment and real-world integration,” said Tom Savage, vice president of business development for mobile commerce solutions at First Data.

Up until today, no one solution for mobile payments has prevailed over the others, and until the mobile phone manufacturers decide how (and when, and maybe even if) mobile payments will be taking place, in order to equip new models accordingly, this is something we won't have an answer for.

Not knowing this now means that for at least the next couple of years -- until new models, properly equipped for seamless payments have started to take a major share in the market -- mobile payments will still be problematic.

There are solutions in the meantime, but each has its problems:

Mobile payments are taking place through network operators, (e.g. network ops portals / apps catalogs) but this means going through your network operator every single time you buy something -- hardly something I'd feel at ease with.

Mobile payments are also taking place through mobile banking, an area with big potential, however still under development.

Mobile payments are often done via SMS, or voice calls: e.g. text '...' to XXXXX, or call XYZ in order to pay a fixed cost. It works, but you can only charge fixed amounts, which are also usually small. So, you can't buy a week's groceries this way, for example.

Either way, I think mobile payments via NFC, are an excellent candidate for a seamless payments method, and I hope mobile manufacturers will soon start integrating NFC capabilities into their newest models.

Perhaps it will be even more painful when you lose your mobile phone (that will now also contain your credit card details), but in my book, it's certainly worth it -- I mean, just think.. paying for everything simply by touching your mobile phone to the counter! :)