Facebook would like to handle all of your buying and selling. They are testing a system in which you would simply log in to your Facebook account where they would already have your credit card and banking details. And there's the problem. Facebook members know that Facebook have never been particularly zealous about protecting its members private information. Members will have to make a choice to trust Facebook in the name of convenience. But with a just over one billion members, the potential financial rewards for Facebook are incredible. If it succeeds at this, it could very quickly become the largest commerce site on the internet...or anywhere.
Facebook Mobile Payment Push Faces Big Hurdles
Facebook is testing a new mobile
payments feature similar to PayPal, according to reports. This would
let you make online purchases by logging in with your Facebook
credentials. The feature, sources said, would be available to
Facebook users who have already provided the social network with
their credit card information for purposes such as game-related
purchases or buying gifts.
Facebook is reportedly testing the new
mobile payments system with just one retailer right now. Should it
expand the pilot, the social network would likely face an uphill
battle, Chris Silva, a mobile analyst with Altimeter Group, said in
an interview.
"Moving into mobile payments is a
natural extension of the identity Facebook has created, which is
taking one set of credentials and using it across a host of
websites," he said. "Salesforce did that for the business
world. But I think Facebook moving into mobile payments will be as
successful as PayPal moving into physical payments."
According to sources, Facebook is
building the mobile payments platform in-house. Jordan McKee, an
analyst at Yankee Group who covers mobile transactions, said in an
email that although this allows for greater flexibility and control,
succeeding in developing an in-house system isn't easy.
"If payments are not a company's
core competency, developing in-house systems tend to be an arduous
and often unsuccessful task," he said. "Partnering is often
the best route to go in payments. Leveraging economies of scale and
best practices from established players can increase speed to market
and the overall success of the initiative."
Facebook's main struggle, though, will
lay in its users' distrust, Denee Carrington, senior analyst at
Forrester, said in a statement. Because Facebook users are already
wary of how the social network collects and uses personal data,
convincing the masses to give up credit card information will be a
challenge.
http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/social_networking_consumer/facebook-mobile-payment-push-faces-big-h/240160039
