i got my first speeding ticket in awhile the other day (42 in a 30, who gives a ticket for that?) and of course I had to post bond. as i never carry cash, i had to give up my license. i was thinking, i should be able to execute a PayPal transaction on my phone to the cop and be done with it. crazy?
it's not, especially when you read stories like Filipinos Are Getting The Message about how Smart and Globe are starting to make money off transactions like this, and people are using it.
In a previous life, I worked for a company that peddled mobile payment and transaction services, and most places in the world, especially here in North America, services like these were a total flop.
Filipinos are crazy about texting though (they send more texts per year than any other country, I beleive) averaging seven messages per sub per day. Filipinos in my family say the first thing that happens when they go visit is they are handed a mobile phone - but they won't get called, they will get texted, about anything and everything going on. in "taglish" - half tagalog, half english. i imagine there are some messed up T9 dictionaries. but i digress...
The point is, great mobile service ideas are a dime a dozen. anything you can think of has probably been thought of, but it takes enough critical mass something like texting being second nature to be able to sell and make money on these services.
I don't expect to be able to post bond via my phone anytime soon, but hey, anything can happen, right?
Posted by Steve at November 15, 2004 02:55 PM | TrackBack