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In what will be (sadly) my final post on the Pay By Touch Blog, I am covering the announcement that Pay By Touch has shut down. Unbelievable! They had an opportunity to, as they said, "Change the Way the World Pays" but instead of making history, it turns out they are history.
Good luck to all the PBT employees and loyal users.
Anyone who is interested in the Internet PIN Debit space that ATMDirect was involved in can follow my Internet PIN Debit Blog at www.PINdebit.blogspot.com- The HomeATM Blog
Here's the final Wall Street Journal Coverage of this once "can't miss" company going cold
Thanks to all the subscribers and readers of the Pay By Touch Blog.
As a proud and eternal optimist, I will close by saying that it is important to know in your heart AND believe that when one door closes...another one opens. Thanks again for following Pay By Touch in the PBT Blog.
Sincerely,
John B. Frank
Pay By Touch Blog----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another Hot New Technology Turns Cold
For every hot new technology that takes off, many don’t. And they’ll fail for any number of reasons other than the technology itself, as Pay By Touch’s demise reminds us.
Pay By Touch, which signed up more than 3.6 million consumers for its service, had some success here – at least enough to attract round after round of funding.
The Journal once called the company “fast growing” and Pay By Touch routinely issued press releases with titles like “Pay By Touch on Course to Change the Way the World Shops.”
Nonetheless, Pay By Touch will stop processing payments at 11:59 tonight, according to the company, at which point the 3,000 or so stores that have installed its scanners will have to take the devices down.
Why did Pay By Touch fail?
In hindsight, making something like a biometric payment system mainstream was a monumental challenge, one that could withstand few missteps.
Pay By Touch officials didn’t immediately respond to calls and an email seeking comment, but we’ll update this post when we hear back.Whatever the reason, it’s another lesson that a technology’s success depends on more than just the technology.
Good luck to all the PBT employees and loyal users.
Anyone who is interested in the Internet PIN Debit space that ATMDirect was involved in can follow my Internet PIN Debit Blog at www.PINdebit.blogspot.com- The HomeATM Blog
Here's the final Wall Street Journal Coverage of this once "can't miss" company going cold
Thanks to all the subscribers and readers of the Pay By Touch Blog.
As a proud and eternal optimist, I will close by saying that it is important to know in your heart AND believe that when one door closes...another one opens. Thanks again for following Pay By Touch in the PBT Blog.
Sincerely,
John B. Frank
Pay By Touch Blog----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shoppers won’t be doing this anymorePay By Touch, a privately held Silicon Valley startup, was going to revolutionize the way we buy things using biometric technology. Instead of swiping a credit card or using old-fashioned cash, we would pay for groceries by scanning our fingerprints. There are some benefits to the idea: It’s more secure because no one can duplicate your fingerprint; it’s private because you don’t have to present your credit card or a check; and it liberates people from the tyranny of wallets.But it’s also futuristic, which is often frightening, and solves problems that not many people think of as problems. (If you don’t think that the general public is indifferent to data privacy and security, consider the indifference with which people greet news of data breaches and the eagerness with which they hand over personal data.) Making something like this stick always requires more than just a cool piece of tech.
For every hot new technology that takes off, many don’t. And they’ll fail for any number of reasons other than the technology itself, as Pay By Touch’s demise reminds us.
Pay By Touch, which signed up more than 3.6 million consumers for its service, had some success here – at least enough to attract round after round of funding.
The Journal once called the company “fast growing” and Pay By Touch routinely issued press releases with titles like “Pay By Touch on Course to Change the Way the World Shops.”
Nonetheless, Pay By Touch will stop processing payments at 11:59 tonight, according to the company, at which point the 3,000 or so stores that have installed its scanners will have to take the devices down.
Why did Pay By Touch fail?
In hindsight, making something like a biometric payment system mainstream was a monumental challenge, one that could withstand few missteps.
Pay By Touch officials didn’t immediately respond to calls and an email seeking comment, but we’ll update this post when we hear back.Whatever the reason, it’s another lesson that a technology’s success depends on more than just the technology.
Ya think?
