I just wanted to let you know that we visited bitwallet during
our April 2004 Mobile Intelligence Tour. We actually paid with
the first DoCoMo prototype in a game hall and recharged it
in a machine. Of course, topping up over i-mode will increase
the convenience, too.
I am sure that mobile Edy will be successful as it has a strong
connection to the real world and is pushed by the right companies.
I have pointed out some key facts on Edy in my (free) report from
the Mobile Intelligence Tour.
http://www.mobiliser.org/article?id=76
Even more easy, here's the Edy part of the report:
Edy or how mobile payment empowers the next big wave
The end-to-end solution getting most of the attention is mobile payment. This is
supposed to be the next big thing. And I do agree with this scenario. Soon the
mobile phone will allow users in Japan to pay for public transport and at an
increasing number of retail shops where Edy is accepted. Edy is the brand of the
contactless payment service operated by bitWallet that works with smartcards or,
starting in July 2004, with the first mobile phones from DoCoMo. The brand name
Edy comes from Sony who is the major investor in bitWallet. And it nicely proves
their ambition for the global market: "Edy" actually stands for "Euro Dollar
Yen". Cute, isn't it?
Already today more than 20 million people pay their JR (Japan Rail) ticket with
the Suica card which they wipe over the transceiver built into the gate at the
entrance and exit of the station. Personally I like the strategy and technology
of Edy very much. It stems from the obvious need to enable fast, contactless
payments: The first customer to purchase Sony's Felica technology built into
Suica cards was Japan Rail. They looked for smart technology capable of
accelerating the human throughput in Tokyo's Shinjuku station through which a
couple of million people route each day.
So the contactless payment technology Felica used for Edy is already in use for
many years in the "fixed world". Now the smartcard goes mobile by being
incorporated into the mobile phone. You can check your Edy balance online or top
up it up over the air. But the coolest thing is that you can integrate Edy cards
from different providers into your mobile phone and stop carrying lots of
plastic around. Do you know the feeling when standing at the checkout in the
supermarket having bought supplies for a full-flavoured weekend and realising
that your supermarket loyalty card sits idle at home?
bitWallet has reached the first milestones but they are still at the very
beginning of a bright future. In March 2004, there were 3.8 million Edy cards
"in force" being accepted at 3.700 stores generating around 3 million monthly
transactions. Our group tested Edy in a Sega game centre and though Daniel had
only time for a short "drum and shoot" game we could imagine the power of
getting rid of coins and game budget problems once you enjoy a good run.
Jan.
Received on Sat Jun 26 14:17:33 2004