IP: Canada Mondex pilot ends

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 18:17:36 -0400
To: IP list <farber () cis upenn edu>
From: David Akin <jdakin () nas net>


For IPers if you like:

Old-fashioned cash outsmarts smart card: Mondex test ended
By Jonathon Gatehouse and David Akin
National Post (http://www.nationalpost.com)
Oct 31, 1998

  Bold predictions of the death of cash have failed to come true in North
America's first large-scale test of smart-card technology.

Mondex Canada cancelled its pilot project in Guelph, Ont., yesterday,
effective Dec. 31.

A consortium of Canada's 10 largest deposit-taking institutions launched
the ballyhooed and expensive pilot project in February 1997, but more than
18 months later there is little evidence that anyone is using it .

Joanne De Laurentis, Mondex Canada Association president, said the
consortium is ready to move on. ``We've got what we need from it. We want
to validate what we've learned in a new market,'' she said.

Another pilot project will be implemented in Sherbrooke, Que., next year.
That project, Ms. De Laurentis said, will likely combine debit card
functions with the embedded cash of the Guelph project.

``One of our findings is that consumers are saying they are ready for a
card that has more than one payment application on it.''

In spite of the millions of dollars in equipment, advertising and
promotional offers Mondex and its banking partners lavished on the town,
Guelph's 100,000 residents never seemed to find the product that convenient.

``If people thought it was worthwhile then they would have used it,'' said
Gord Townsend, the manager of a downtown sports card store.

Mr. Townsend's dusty Mondex terminal has processed one transaction since
the test run began. ``It's just something that isn't needed, not with Visa,
MasterCard, and direct debit.''

Mondex said the 12,000 card holders in Guelph have used the service for
more than $3-million in transactions so far.

Back in Guelph, though, it's hard to find anyone who will own up to having
one of the cards.

``My card is sitting in the back of my dresser drawer,'' said Alyson King.
``My bank had a promo -- use it three times and get $15 in credit. So I
bought three packs of gum and then went out for a nice lunch. I haven't
used it since.

 - David
 Hamilton, Ontario