The Future of Money - See with 2020 Vision!

By Randy Smith,

Mobile Wallet Media

October 26, 2012

If innovation is the future, understanding innovation is what matters most.

Today, rather than just telling you what I think may be the future of money, I want to start by first taking a look at innovation itself. Plato can be attributed with originating the concept that "Necessity is the Mother of Invention." Innovators like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates helped to shape the future of much of the technology we use today. If we can better understand how they knew what products and services were necessary or in demand, then perhaps we too can forge a clear path forward into the future of commerce. In looking back, we can peer forward and know that history often repeats itself.

So we will begin by observing what they saw and how they came to the conclusions they did. What Bill and Steve had was a knowledge base solid enough to understand the core problems.

This article is published just as when Microsoft has launched a bold new Windows 8. It will make them or break them, but it is innovative. Circling back to 1975, Bill Gates, the co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, and other programmers were writing BASIC (a programming language) and computers were in their infancy. That same year Bill partnered with Paul Allen to form Microsoft. Bill developed the insight and smarts to understand the current barrier to the evolution of software and computers was an operating platform upon which other programs could run. Bill knew what was needed by IBM and all he needed to do was find or develop the software that could serve as this platform or OS. So what Bill had done to be in position to solve the problem was to understand what the main problem was, and how to fix it. He could not have done this if he did not understand the entire ecosystem and he was not networked enough to set meetings. As the story goes, Bill secured a contract with IBM to build their software platform and purchased an OS from Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Company for $50,000. This operating software came to be known as DOS.

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Embracing Innovation is Answer to Tech Disruption at the WSSA Conference

By Randy Smith,
Mobile Wallet Media
September 29, 2012

The Western States Acquirers Conference had high impact statements and speakers delivered in a small package. Two of the general sessions were "Embracing Change; Staying Relevant in the Changing Payments Landscape" and "Future of Acquiring . . . Will you Wipe Out or Catch the Big One?" The wake-up call to reality is ringing and it is time to answer the call. If you can't beat the join them, might provide the answer.



It seems like the overarching message being delivered here was, don't panic, but do take action now! Attending diverse trade shows in this past year and past 15 years, I've come to hear the words 'Disruption' and 'Innovation' a lot. These two words, in 2012 have lead the pack for trendy words used in business and technology. The words address the issue of change and remaining 'relevant,' also another trendy word in our vocabulary today.

The word Disruption in Silicon Valley and the tech industry represents a method of being innovative by creatively solving problems or providing a solution that could be done in a much better, simpler, quicker or more cost-efficient way. Disruption is innovation and vice-versa. It is only when it is you that is being disrupted that it is viewed with disdain or threat. But this is business and competition and change is always the constant. To stick your head in the sand and think that things will remain the same as they have always been is strategy that will deliver your worst fears to become reality.

Innovation is offense. It is moving the ball forward and the best defense is a great offense. The SR-71 BlackBird was developed in the 1960's by Lockheed Corporation. It can fly as high an altitude as 100,000 feet with 3 times the speed of sound (3.5 Mach). It was in use by USAF for 40 years and was retired in 1998. It actually had no defensive weapons, but relied solely on it's speed, stealth and maneuverability to evade it's enemies. In all it's years of service it was never shot down. But even it was retired after 30+ years in service. Why? It was retired because the next generation of technology was ready to replace it. And now is the time that new innovation is replacing the status quo.

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Beyond NFC Security For Mobile Payments A Greater Threat Looms

By Randy Smith, Mobile Wallet Media

Tuesday, August 14h, 2012

There has been so much hype around NFC mobile payments security that perhaps other threats have been ignored.

As technology speeds forward at 'Mach 5', we are fast approaching a new destination, the need to secure our smartphones from hackers. Very soon the same types of threats that exist for our PC's may run rampant on mobile. NFC is now in Android phones to power mobile payments, as well as someday soon serving as a key to lock and unlock our cars, computer, home and office. But for NFC to work it must be turned on to transmit it's signal. So it appears there is yet another problem to solve as to how best accomplish this.

CNN Money interviewed Charlie Miller, a security specialist with Accuvant. Charlie was quoted as saying "with doing something as simple as paying for your cab, you may end up getting malware on your phone."

What this malware could do to relay private or financial data is uncertain, but what is certain is that cyber thieves are always on the prowl near new technologies as they are more vulnerable to attacks.

Charlie also stated that "anytime you add new technology to your phone, it increases the risk that something can go wrong." Charlie did not hint at specifically at Bluetooth but it seems this too could be yet another door in need of locking.

Ramon Ray a Editor & Technology Evangelist for Smallbiztechnology.com recently wrote: "When I give presentations on security, especially mobile security, I stress that it’s important for mobile professionals to turn their Bluetooth devices OFF. The reason for this is that hackers can access your mobile devices through their Bluetooth connectivity."

In the CNN Video Charlie points out that we store banking, GPS data and pictures on our phones and implied that malware could be a threat to steal this data. The question for us all is how do we best secure our phones?

Ryan Whitwam in a recent article pointed out that "Android antivirus apps are useless." The story summarizes that the best antivirus app for Android was only 80% effective, with most being 50% or less effective at stopping malware from being downloaded.

Ryan makes several suggestions to how best secure our phones. One suggestion he has is as follows:

"If a relatively simple app, like a wrapper for a website, asks for permission to send and receive SMS messages, that is a serious red flag. In fact, a large number of these so-called “SMS Trojans” are in circulation around the seedier parts of the web. When installed, they text premium rate numbers to rack up charges."

It seems to me like the security front on mobile is a bit like the Wild West in that one must be proactive. To defend one's mobile turf one cannot yet rely on 'automated antivirus' to do the job of policing and securing our phones or devices. With innovation cool new products are born, but unfortunately at first it seems demand always outpaces security concerns, at least until they become a serious problem. So the story is ever-changing, but forever remains the same. Vigilance will always have it's place.

About Mobile Wallet Media

Mobile Wallet Media is a media, analyst and consulting firm focused on the future of mobile commerce. The company mission is to highlight industry innovation and provide insights and opinions that will be relevant and forward-looking. The author, Randy Smith, is the primary founder, inventor and former CEO of MobilePayUSA, a TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Alley Winner.