Will cash become obsolete? E-money, mobile payments and mobile commerce (Talk for the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan)

Gave presentation to the Telecommunications Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) on October 7, 2009. My talk was attended by about 30-40 executives from major global telecom operators, global banks, new-age payment companies, and from major internet companies.

Outline:

What is money?

1. Medium of exchange
2. Unit of account
3. Store of value
4. (Standard of deferred payment, unit for debt)

e-Cash value to society:

• reduced cash handling costs
• Higher transaction speed
• Convenience
• Greater security (especially mobile) vs. reduced privacy

Why should be care? (Summary)

• Electronic money is here to stay
• One e-money card/Japanese person
• 2% of banknotes and coins today
• YEN 100 billion outstanding
• YEN 100 billion transactions/month
• Japan is far in advance, rest-of-world is likely to follow. But can Japan capture the value? maybe not.
• However: “Galapagos syndrome“

More information in our reports:
Mobile payments, e-money and mobile credit in Japan
SUICA and NFC payment for transport
QR codes are also used for payment