How can Facebook revolutionize mobile payments?

The best online payment solution is Paypal, the best offline is credit card and the best for mobile is Square. The next challenge is to create a unified payment mean: online-offline-mobile. The only companies that may have the ressources to do that are: Google, Apple and Facebook. Google failed. Apple is trying to figure out how to do it. And Facebook is only at the beggining of the road. Facebook has to do what did eBay years ago: use its mountain of cash to buy a good payment solution and promote it. What do all these mobile payment solutions miss is a worldwide shop which gives them the strength to impose. PayPal got eBay that allowed him to quickly go global and overshadow all other solutions. If Facebook knows how to use its gigantic database of customers, products and Likes, it can become the largest supermarket in the planet and integrate an existing mobile payment solution, to create a new user experience kind of "Buy What You See" what is called "visual web".

Revolutionize is a pretty strong word. That said, given the depth and breadth of their reach and influence they can certainly legitimize the whole concept. Rest assured, they are working on it. Nothing would make their loving souls happier than to be able to add financial transactions to their . What better to measure a connection / bond / relationship than a dollar sign? So while there might be a revolution, it's not going to be televised. It will happen in such a way that you're probably not going to notice the added value they are pulling from their graph.

In many developing countries, needs and later payments are discussed then funded within the user's social graph. Aka ask/convince my friend/relative to fund discussed wants & needs. This is why remittance is usually such a big market but the remitted funds are immediately spent (payment) by the receiver. Facebook social graph with a payment layer would be revolutionary. This is what weChat has understood in China, combining messaging with payment! Funding payment transaction is what what make successful payment networks. While credit is the ultimate payment incentive in developed markets ( credit in cards, klarna, etc...), I argue that having a strong social graph (which you can tap to get support) is the key in emerging markets. Direct income is nothing compared to having a large and supporting network (family, friends, connections) to support or get support from. This is probably cultural as well. #ubuntu way of life. Last, this would solve the Ad headaches in emerging markets. Facebook would ultimately know who pays for who and thus who should local brands should target etc... [update] this was just few hours before facebook acquiring WhatsApp. I guess the path is much clearer now.

I do not see them as capable of revolutionizing payment. Square has undertaken that and done an excellent job, and they have seen many companies copy their original ideas. Yes, Facebook could go along and very well make a replica as well, though this does not seem like their best tactic. As many have pointed out in light of their recent launch of iOS app Poke, Facebook's unoriginal ideas have been anything but game-changers and disrupters. So instead of trying to go for payment, I think they have a much better shot at revolutionizing shopping. Why do I like Amazon? I log on, Amazon says "well seeing as you have bought this and this, you might like to check out that." Beyond the fact that I just got directed to an item Amazon inferred I liked, I get to see reviews and buy with one click. Now how can Facebook provide that for me in stores? It knows what I like. It has enough information about me to place incredibly targeted advertisements, so I think that this interest graph could be put into true user-benefitting use through stores. When I walk into a store, Facebook could apply my likes and interests to direct me to a section. Here's a nice pair of pants. Well now I can scan it to see if any of my friends have purchased them and read others' reviews. I can continue browsing, maybe even adding things to a cart like scanning items in Apple stores. Facebook has my credit card, so I can pay with Facebook at checkout. They now have even more data and can better direct me next time. Now maybe I'm at a café. Well, I have gotten mochas multiple times at precious places, so while I would get a mocha out of habit, Facebook might say that instead, the espresso is incredibly popular and it recommends I give that a try. Or I am at a grocery store and am looking for food for dinner. Well, the grocery store can work with Facebook to provide me a recipe and give me a shopping list accordingly, showing me what is just in and what is on sale. The point is I think Facebook can make something personal like this in a multitude of environments. It has to potential to provide value to the consumer, and their data can go a long way for merchants as it can both stimulate purchases and provide insight into their products. I think Facebook, given my current information and more accumulated over time, could create a very powerful personalized shopping experience in stores. It could recommend dishes at a restaurant, books, and really anything I'd want help with while shopping off of a shelf.