DPA
So could I type in a mobile number and then magically be given a name associated with that number? I don't think I will register my number then thanks. Facebook do a similar thing which is well handy for stalkers.
The GSMA's Mobile Connect mobile payments project is going head-to-head with the Payments council's rival Paym system after both systems launched this week. The mobile operator creates a token which is then shared with vendors to verify who you are. Customers do not necessarily have to tie their actual mobile phone to the …
My bank is regulated and I have a pretty clear understanding of who is liable when things go wrong.
The phone companies would like me to move money through them, so they can earn interest on it, and probably charge me a fee for the privilege. And when things go wrong they'll no doubt engage in a circle-jerk of blame with the banks leaving me without my money.
Phone companies - here's a thought: invest in your networks and leave banking to the banks
"David Pollington .... envisages a model where the customer logs into a website and there is a button on the screen which sends a text message to a mobile phone number for verification, "
Fab idea Dave. But you've obviously never had a mobile with O2, where text messages can take days to arrive, even when sent from and to O2 phones.
This article seems to confuse payments and identity. They can be related but they are very definitely not the same thing. My understanding about Mobile Connect is that it is purely about Identity: it is a way to use your mobile phone number as a "token" with a website or app -- just like you might use a Facebook login on a non-Facebook website. The website might be, for example, The Register comments section: El Reg really doesn't need to know who you really are, it just wants to know that when you log in again the next time you can access your previous comments. Your mobile phone number is fine for that.
A mobile operator may choose to link the Mobile Connect identity to their M-Payments system, of course, but that would just be an example of an app (M-Payments) using the Mobile Connect identity (just like Amazon or Google or a bank can, if they want to).
[Full disclosure: I have been involved in marketing Digital Identity for a company not mentioned in the article, but these comments are my own view]