In this blog we will look to examine the effect that mobile pay options, such as PayPal or Apple Pay, has had on the business market. However, before we get into the implications of mobile pay, it is important to examine and understand the strong relationship between business and payment, since the two are, obviously, connected deeply.
As long as humans have been exchanging goods, payment has been taking place. This may not have always meant an exchange of money, as early transactions relied on bartering1, but exchange and transfer in some form has been integral to the growth of humanity. Bartering began because humans found they had varying needs, and could not satisfy all of those needs by themselves1. Instead of missing out on goods they desired, they exchanged what they could do for goods or services others could provide. However, the problem of perfectly quantifying how much a good or skill is worth when bartering quickly made the development of more advanced forms of exchange a necessity.
The first known coins, or currency in general, date to 600 BC and were found in modern day Turkey1. This clearly represents a big step for payment, as a standard currency allows people to store value by selling and trading goods and they are no longer dependent upon their ability to barter their own skills. Now, people could specialize in services or production and instead of bartering with others, they could collect payment for their work and use it wherever they pleased. This key evolution in methods of payment is what allowed business to flourish and become a reality. Individuals or groups of people could now work together towards common goals or objectives and share the wealth (now easily transferrable as coin) using it for whatever they wished—making businesses a viable option.
The next step for payment was bank notes (or bills) which first appeared in Europe in 1661 AD1, as well as the growth of banks and financial institutions. As times went on the advent of cheques, credit cards (first introduced in 19461), debit cards, online currency, and mobile pay has further altered the sophistication of payment methods.
Understanding the strong connection between payment and business is integral to understanding this blog and realizing why mobile pay is not a trivial matter in the business sector. Without the use of currencies and payments, businesses would not be able to function the way they do. Payment is typically defined as an exchange of funds for a good or service, while mobile payment is defined as the transfer of funds for a good or service, where the mobile phone or networked device is involved in both the initiation and confirmation of payment2. Any changes in the method of payment, either making it easier, faster, or more secure, is sure to have an impact in the business world and we will explore the impact mobile payment options have had on business in the coming posts.
Footnotes
1 Burn-Callander, Rebecca. (2014, Oct 20). The History of Money: From Barter to Bitcoin. The Telegraph. Retrieved From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/money/11174013/The-history-of-money-from-barter-to-bitcoin.html
2 Dennehy, Dennis, & Sammon David. (2015). Trends in Mobile Payments Research: A literature Review. Journal of Innovation Management, 3(1), 49-61. Retrieved From http://www.open-jim.org/article/viewFile/71/72
