A year into the slow rollout of Bling Nation’s mobile-payment service in the United States, and one thing is clear: There’s pent-up demand for shaking up the status quo and poking a symbolic finger in the eye of entrenched interests.
For merchants dissatisfied with fees to accept debit and credit cards, small community banks eager to play the “local” card and consumers looking for quicker and more novel ways to pay, Bling’s contactless-mobile payment scheme has been a welcome alternative.
Less certain at this stage, however, is whether Bling or any alternative payment system will be able to successfully take on the giant incumbents, Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide, and their big banking partners.
