Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor

One of Japan’s major banks, JCB is teaming up with wireless carrier DoCoMo and retail credit card giant Aeon to develop a smart card system that interacts with the nearly 50M Smartphones in that island nation. They are looking to create an e-Wallet experience for the new millennium. The service is called QuickPay and turns the Smartphone into a smart credit card–complete with credit limit and more. The system not only can be used to buy products, but it can help you decide just what to buy through wireless advertising and even how much to pay by delivering wireless coupons right on the phone display.

The group is linked-up with leading Japanese convenience store retailers like AM/PM Mini Mart (10,000+ locations) and Family Mart (7,300 locations) looking to get on the e-commerce bandwagon and speed up transaction times. In fact, for the stores, that’s the big win, since it brings transaction time down to less than one second for purchases under $80 for "off line processing where no signature is needed." In retail circles the process is known as "Contactless payment system" and leverages NFC technology (short for near field communications). It’s empowered by an IC that usually resides in the smartcard. The technology is now being used in i-mode FeliCa service compatible mobile phones.

To the end user, the purchase looks just the same as if the linked credit card is used. Same loyalty points, mileage benefits and the item hits the standard credit card billing statement. The difference is "the visual and communication elements make this payment system fun as well as user-friendly," according to Atsushi Gondo, Executive Officer at JCB.

OK, what’s "fun" (and even "user friendly") to a banker may not be to the rest of us. But the writing is on the wall–and has been therefor some time. Not only is the e-Wallet concept rather convenient, but the banks are figuring ways to combine technologies including security, e-commerce and retailing to create something rather transparent. Overlay this with real time Internet connectivity and you open the door to user preference data like those found in retail database systems, proximity location information and even day-part advertising. When done correctly, we can have a data convergence experience that can efficiently serve very specific customer needs.

Now, combine this with next generation flexible display technology and we may have a glimpse of where our personal devices are heading in the next decade–Smart Displays. Thin, flexible credit card sized displays that not only serve as our Internet linked Smartphone, but e-Wallet complete with credit limit, personal ID, medical details, even the keys to open you front door and start your car. Just don’t lose the little bugger.