But that won't happen soon. Still, almost everyone agrees the kinks can be worked out eventually. The Business Case Acceptance is the big issue. No one has put forth a convincing scenario for how it will be rolled out. Card-issuing banks seem to be waiting for a critical mass of merchants.
Merchants seem to be waiting for clear signals from banks.
Consumers appear to be at the mercy of both. We are depending on the software companies. If Netscape and Microsoft make good on their promises to build wallet technology into their next-generation Web browsers, it should help put wallets onto the hard drives of consumers. If those two things happen, then banks might be willing to spend money on infrastructure and on issuing wallets and certificates to cardholders. Trouble is, the banks probably need to take those steps first.