It had to happen - mere hours after we explain why the inexorable mobile e-cash juggernaut can't be stopped, we get naysayers piping up to say unlucky tech fans in the West will have to wait several more years to get started paying for things with their phones.
According to Reuters, various gloomy analysts have been predicting that - even though the technology is clearly available - stick-in-the mud companies that control the infrastructure aren't ready at all.
Four more years
The consensus seems to be that it'll be 2012 before even one phone in five comes with a chip for RFID e-cash payments. An R&D manager at TeliaSonera explained: "When the 20 per cent level is reached it starts to feed itself. That is the critical point."
That may be true, especially considering the mark was something like 30 per cent for SMS messaging, but a little vision could help companies bring adoption forward.
The report leans heavily towards cost being a barrier for transport firms, retailers and phone companies, citing the example of phone retailers charging extra for handsets with e-cash chips.
We predict that will change quickly once all concerned realise how much they can cream off e-cash transactions by simply giving away the extra technology and encouraging people to start using it. Until then, we're stuck with grubby, old cash.
