Last night a number of us met at ShaShuka on Fraser Street. It was good to see everyone after a busy summer. John had his iPhone with him so the questions began. This is an amazing piece of technology. It is a computer with a finder, terminal, et al. The screen is crystal clear and John was moving through programs and lists in an amazingly fast fashion. This device will change the way we view cell phones, the way iPods changed the way we view music and digital imagery. Mobile banking with this device is going to put people’s financial transactions in front of them with complete ease. The question is what will banking look like when access to your account can be done from anywhere? How did the iPod change us when we could listen to our record collection from anywhere?
The consumer will no longer be a passive viewer but an active participant in realizing their spending habits. Think of it this way. You’ve set up your monthly budget, your using Wesabe to tag and assimilate your financing spending, you are in the grocery store and pay for the goods with your Debit card, the iPhone alerts you “Congratulations you are still within budget for food purchases this month….” or on the other side “Not good news – you are exceeding your entertainment budget by ….” Maybe we can become a nation of savers (more than 2.5% of our income) with a little discipline and technology.
Tinfoiling 
At least now you won’t have to worry about ‘exceeding your gadget budget’ since Apple dropped the price of the iPhone by $200 today…along with announcing a wireless iPod with Safari to help facilitate that mobile online banking for the masses.
I love this idea. I actually ran it past my programmer a few weeks ago after using Wesabe. One of our clients is launching their “Text Banking” product that will allow you to receive text alerts every time your debit or credit card is used (among other services).
I think it is only a matter of time before someone aggregates these services into that one killer app.
The idea that all your budgetary needs and maintenance are met automatically and be controlled and monitored through simple SMS services is awesome. It would also make ID theft more difficult if you could register your text enabled phone with the credit bureaus to notify you and get SMS authorization before credit is issued in your name.
Just a thought.
Out now at a browser near you: Vancouver Blogger September Meetup recap: http://www.jankarlsbjerg.com/blog/archives/2007/09/06/vancouver-blogger-september-meetup-recap/
Add a comment if you have discussion topics that should be added to the recap.
I love it – it’s sort of science fiction rolling out before our very eyes. I’m trying to imagine a (soon) future where exactly that, happens. It could help us become a nation of savers (hooray!) … but I also think money is so bound up with so much more than the technical aspects of it… I wonder how much these would affect how we use money. Does having pda’s make us more effective time managers? Would having notices make us more strategic and intentional with our money?