{"id":28525,"date":"2012-02-11T15:32:49","date_gmt":"2012-02-11T15:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=28525"},"modified":"2012-02-11T15:34:22","modified_gmt":"2012-02-11T15:34:22","slug":"tap-n-go-is-good-for-everyone-but-consumers-retailers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/tap-n-go-is-good-for-everyone-but-consumers-retailers\/","title":{"rendered":"Tap-n-Go is Good for Everyone But Consumers, Retailers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n                                       google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">The following is by G. A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm', 'Marken Communications']);\" ><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">Marken Communications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking article. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the opinions expressed are solely those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and the <strong>opinions of the rest of the ABT staff.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> \u2013Mark Poppin,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">ABT Senior Editor<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Mobile Wallet<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-11.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28534\" title=\"Untitled-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-11.jpg?resize=182%2C227\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>\u201c<\/em><\/strong><em> I told you- good day I&#8217;m okay, bad day I&#8217;m okay. Stop bugging me on my feelings. They&#8217;re irrelevant.\u201d<\/em> <strong>\u2013 Lewis Zabel, \u201c<em>Wall Street:\u00a0 Money Never Sleeps<\/em>,\u201d 20<sup>th<\/sup> Century Fox, 2010<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Joe Corzine, former head of MF Global, \u201cmisplaced\u201d $1.2B of investors\u2019 money but was certain it would show up.<\/p>\n<p>The EU stress tested a bunch of banks (to see if they could withstand a financial fiscal shock attack), a lot failed.<\/p>\n<p>Talk about stress testing U.S. banks is avoided because\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Banks, credit card companies and digital site folks (Google, PayPal, Apple, etc) want to make life easier for you \u2013 they want to eliminate the need to handle all that dirty, filthy money and hauling out your plastic every time you want to buy something.<\/p>\n<p>Face it, money &#8211; dollars, rubles, pounds, francs, yen, Yuan, etc. \u2013 doesn\u2019t really exist.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a bunch of ones and zeros flying from cloud to cloud.<\/p>\n<p>To save yourself from carrying all that junk, you can do it all with your feature\/smartphone.<\/p>\n<p>Your phone is always with you anyway for playing your music, showing you your videos, sending you the latest news, giving you your exercise plan, keeping your appointments, showing you how to get from home to office.<\/p>\n<p>So, it\u2019s the logical place for your money.<\/p>\n<p>Nirvana awaits \u2026 a truly cashless world.<\/p>\n<p>And as Gordon Gekko said, <em>\u201c<\/em><em>It&#8217;s not about the money. It&#8217;s about the game between people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Despite the rosy projections (wishes) financial institutions, service providers, paid analysts are making, web measurement firm Compete found that only seven percent of banking consumers said they would be likely to pay bills with their devices.<\/p>\n<p>Only five percent said they would use the device for making deposits.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the folks who carried credit\/debit cards said it was unlikely that they would\u00a0begin managing their cards or using their mobile device for point-of-sale purchases.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-21.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28535\" title=\"Untitled-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-21.jpg?resize=480%2C157\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-21.jpg 480w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-21-300x98.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Phone Near You \u2013 <\/strong><em>Financial mobile apps and new phones with NFC (Near Field Communications) chips are being touted as the way for people to shed that ugly bulge in their pocket\/purse by letting you do all your financial transactions with new phones.\u00a0\u00a0 Many (including the financial industry) are making it look like the modern way to handle your money, but it still requires a lot of new technology and consumer education<\/em>.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 Yankee Group<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In 2010, only a measly 800M plus had NFC (near field communications) phones; but by 2014, there will be a whopping 151M.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, but the phone people say there are already more than 6B devices in use by the more than 7B people on the planet.<\/p>\n<p>People are using their mobile devices for financial transactions:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 U.S. consumers racked up nearly $40B in purchases using their mobile device<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tap-and-go phone services for air, rail, bus travel and entertainment events is still limited in the Americas, Europe<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Japan has embraced the concept where more than 47 million people use the devices<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Chinese industry analysts project that by 2013, there will be more than 169 million tap-and-go payment users (they have a couple of billion citizens)<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-31.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28527\" title=\"Untitled-3\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-31.jpg?resize=269%2C249\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Heavy Load <em>\u2013 <\/em><\/strong><em>Instead of carrying all of those other mobile devices with you like your ultrabook and tablet, make it easy on yourself by letting your smartphone be your all-purpose device for communications, entertainment, financial management, and living<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The potential for mobile payments is huge.\u00a0 And, it would dramatically reduce the cost to financial institutions to \u201cmanage\u201d your money.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Credit Living<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Globally, consumers make trillions of dollars in credit and debit card transactions each year. \u00a0Migrating just a small percentage of that spending to mobile-based transactions would be a lucrative opportunity for the companies that facilitate it.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s so cool the institutions that helped the world in the last few years have it all figured out how to do it for us.<\/p>\n<p>As Gordon Gekko said, <em>\u201c<\/em><em>The mother of all evil is speculation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-41.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28528\" title=\"Untitled-4\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-41.jpg?resize=500%2C295\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-41.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-41-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Open 24-Hours a Day \u2013 <\/strong><em>Financial institutions and technology developers already have a master plan for turning money digital.\u00a0 All it requires to succeed will be new government regulations, new technology, new implementation, and new users<\/em>.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 Jupiter<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Twenty countries are expected to launch NFC services in the next 18 months.\u00a0 All they have to do is change users behavior.\u00a0 You know, convince folks how much better it will be to pay with mobile phones instead of cash and cards.<\/p>\n<p>Changing a person\u2019s habits is tough; but the financial industry\u2019s record so far has been spotty at best, at least in the U.S.:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 400,000 ATM users<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 600M credit cards<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 520M debit cards<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pay with fingerprint failed because of privacy concerns<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Video tellers came, went real fast<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get us wrong; we love eCommerce and being able to shop for we want when we have the idea and no matter what we\u2019re wearing.<\/p>\n<p>We were one of the mob that makes Cyber Mondays huge year-round with our computer, tablet and yes smartphone.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28529\" title=\"Untitled-5\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-5.jpg?resize=390%2C398\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-5.jpg 390w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-5-293x300.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Convenience \u2013 <\/strong><em>Mobile devices \u2013 primarily tablets, smartphones \u2013 became the weapon of choice for consumers this past holiday season to locate products and services they wanted at the best possible price.\u00a0 A growing number of people are also increasingly comfortable in purchasing the items over the air<\/em>.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 Barkley<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Heck, we even liked Amazon\u2019s Price Check&#8230;and we\u2019re not afraid to use it in the store.<\/p>\n<p><strong>mCommerce Growing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>mCommerce in the U.S. was worth about $240B this last year; and as more and more people (kids) use their smartphone for everything, it could be over $1T by 2015.<\/p>\n<p>However, as Gordon Gekko pointed out, <em>\u201cIdealism kills every deal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Strip away the wild hype and its penetration is just O.K.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a $5 Starbucks\/iPhoner, of course you want to use their tap-n-go app. But if you\u2019re an Android phone user, how \u201chot\u201d is it to use your phone at Dunkin Donuts or Dairy Queen?<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28530\" title=\"Untitled-6\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-6.jpg?resize=298%2C175\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Breakfast On the Go \u2013 <\/strong><em>A growing number of retailers are testing mobile payment programs despite people\u2019s concern about losing their phone, or worse yet, losing their personal\/private data.\u00a0 While the smartphone infrastructure has considerable security in place, outside apps which can tap into the personal data are a sticky issue.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Younger kids like the idea of the all-in-one smartphone.<\/p>\n<p>Around the globe, people make trillions of dollars in credit, debit card transactions each year.<\/p>\n<p>All the financial industry has to do is convince a small percentage of these folks \u2013 those raised digitally \u2013 that using mobile-based transactions is the natural order of things and they can save\/make billions!<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28531\" title=\"Untitled-7\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-7.jpg?resize=362%2C282\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-7.jpg 362w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-7-300x233.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 362px) 100vw, 362px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Mobile Payments \u2013 <\/strong><em>Consumers in Japan are already very comfortable using their smartphones to pay on-the-go pay for a growing array of products and services.\u00a0 Younger individuals who have grown up with mobile devices see no issue using the phone for charges compared to dragging out, swiping a credit card<\/em>.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 Myxer<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Everyone wants in on the action.<\/p>\n<p>But as Gekko noted, <em>\u201cIt&#8217;s easy to get in &#8211; it&#8217;s hard to get out.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The carriers have launched their solution called Isis.\u00a0 They\u2019ve opened it up all of the financial service providers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>All On Board<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Banks, phone companies and other firms are pouring huge sums of money into mobile-payment technology.<\/p>\n<p>But after an initial wave of excitement, we\u2019re like Gartner and have our doubts\/questions on whether it will be of interest to enough consumers to anything more than a digital curiosity.\u00a0 After all, the financial industry has spent billions for years to give us new (better) ways to pay for stuff.<\/p>\n<p>It took 50 years for plastic to triumph in the U.S.; and even today, most transactions under $10 still use cash.<\/p>\n<p>Then to are the estimates it will cost $15 billion to deploy the technology that will make mobile payments ubiquitous.<\/p>\n<p>Throwing a damp blanket on NFC, Gartner points out all those folks are trying to persuade us to use a technology we don\u2019t really need at this stage.\u00a0 And at this stage, it isn\u2019t that good.<\/p>\n<p>None of the folks like to address the security issue which is still \u201ca work in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28532\" title=\"Untitled-8\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-8.jpg?resize=282%2C185\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>The Next Big Thing \u2013 <\/strong><em>Cybercrime \u2013 and counter agent security sales <strong>\u2013<\/strong> has grown rapidly over the past five years as hackers have become increasingly good at tapping into computers and enterprise networks.\u00a0 While still relatively safe, security experts see the smartphone as the next big target for thieves as people place more and more of their personal, private information on the go-anywhere, all-the-time mobile device.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Google stores a significant amount of data, unencrypted, on the device itself, providing fairly <a href=\"http:\/\/www.leavedebtbehind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/identity-theft.gif\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.leavedebtbehind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/identity-theft.gif', 'easy access']);\" target=\"new\">easy access<\/a> to your personal information.<\/p>\n<p><strong>New Cybercrime Opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Security folks work tirelessly to protect computer networks and PCs.\u00a0 And they have a long history of being one step behind the bad guys.<\/p>\n<p>Gekko commented, <em>\u201cStop telling lies about me and I&#8217;ll stop telling the truth about you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Today, we have more than one million apps and five billion user devices worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>Lookout Mobile Security estimated that more than $1M was stolen from Android users last year.\u00a0 The firm is pretty sure that the criminal element will be even more profitable over the next few years as they turn their attention to mobile devices which are remarkably unprotected by individuals even though security solutions are available.<\/p>\n<p>The bad guys\/gals are already busy with automated repackaging that repackages malware automatically.\u00a0 They\u2019re busy developing new, better browser attacks and maladvertising \u2013 phony ads and coupons.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the security concerns Compete found that just seven percent of banking consumers said they might use their phone or tablet to make bill payments.<\/p>\n<p>Only five percent would use them to make deposits.\u00a0 The same number said they would use the devices to manage their debit\/credit card balance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Beyond Wiretaps<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve already read about hackers tapping into folk\u2019s phones like News Corp\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n<p>Mobile security folks follow the same guidelines they do for all of their security work, <em>\u201cif you wait for it to become a problem, it\u2019s too late.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<p>They try to give you a little assurance by pointing out that you\u2019re more likely to just leave it in a cab than you are going to be attacked by a hacker.<\/p>\n<p>Still, no one has yet to tell us what fees are involved, or how much protection we have in the event of accidental or fraudulent charges.<\/p>\n<p>We know \u2026 they\u2019ll get back to you on that.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, they\u2019re trying to figure out where their electronic funds are located!<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-9.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28533\" title=\"Untitled-9\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Untitled-9.jpg?resize=282%2C185\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Misplaced \u2013 <\/strong><em>Financial institutions may misplace millions of dollars each day as they send transactions over the Internet, but they see a great opportunity to reduce their costs by encouraging people to use their mobile devices for more and more of their transactions.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As Jacob Moore said, <em>\u201c<\/em><em>If it weren&#8217;t for people who took risks, where would we be in this world?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"># # #<\/p>\n<p><strong>by: G.A. &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> President<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> Marken Communications Inc.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <a href=\"mailto:Andy@markencom.com\">Andy@markencom.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304<\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 138705<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1', 'World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech']);\" target=\"_blank\">World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following is by G. A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of Marken Communications Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking article. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":396,"featured_media":28535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,7],"tags":[5077,2117,5075,5076],"class_list":["post-28525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-technology","tag-moble-payments","tag-security","tag-smartphone-payment","tag-tap-and-go"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}