The combination of cryptocurrencies and retail-payments has been a promise for quite some time now. Of course we all dreamed about "paying with Bitcoin" while traveling the world and some people actually gave that a try. But of course there's a catch... As there was a catch with the first 14K modems in the 90s as well. You could browse websites with it and even load some pictures but the lack of speed made it a no go for things like videoclips.

And boy, have the times changed! When broadband arrived the internet was opened to a whole new set of possibilities. It took time but around 2006 "the internet" became fast enough for a website like YouTube to open the door to videosharing. You made an account and directly posted your first homemade cat-video to share it with friends. Broadband internet also allowed companies like Netflix to move from 'DVDs per mail' to streaming content to your living room. |

If you ask me we're seeing a similair movement with cryptocurrencies. People are saturated with terms like "Jobs 3.0" or "The third Industrial revolution" so I'd rather stay away from terms blockchain 2.0 or 3.0 etc.
The idea is quite simple though: Current blockchain systems are slow and expensive. That's it! Of course they brought us quite some good stuff. And they still do actually. Bitcoin and Ethereum allowed any group of developers to hold an ICO and raise money. They also inspired people to come up with new ideas and even dream about world computers, payment facilities for the currently un-banked people and loads more. So yes, Bitcoin (transfer/storage of value) and Ethereum (smart contracts) are a good thing. But there is a catch... Like I said: These current solutions are slow and expensive. Who will move some BTC to Bitpay if your payment costs you $22? And what would you use Bitpay for? Some payment in a shop? Buying an online pizza? I'm a real "cryptofan" but I can't make a case like that to friends. "Hey, you really want to pay for your groceries with Ethereum! It's amazing! Get an addres and make sure to store your private key on several usb-sticks to begin with. And don't forget about that 22 Gwei of GAS!" You probably get my point, this isn't gonna work.

So, what's the solution? You probably guessed I'm gonna talk about EOS here... And indeed I will. It looks like EOS will solve several problems concerning mobile payments. Let's start with a con though: People still need an account to pay for stuff with a local wallet. Even while they're used to paying in a different way for years now. Or even while current solutions are already cheap and fast!

All that said there might be an incentive for retailers to support mobile payments if EOS becomes a popular blockchain system. Transactions on EOS are free as long as you stake some EOS in your account. And while you might not pay a fee when you pay with your current payment solution, your retailer does pay a fee. Maybe it's only several cents but they are paying them. So if EOS becomes a popular system with millions of users people already have an account with a simple profile name. No weird addresses or gas-prices to set. So if you -as a retailer- offer these people a mobile payment solution which brings you free transactions.... you migh be better off than a current card payment. Add to that the 500ms blocktime (that's 2 blocks per second) and things become quite interesting. Live payments on a blockchain won't work with 10 minute blocktimes. Or even with 20 second blocktimes. Customers and retailers want speed, low costs and simplicity.

Here in the Netherlands retailers are in the news now and than when bank holidays lock their card payments for as much as 4 days. Banks currently come away with not seattling these payments for days. Got a payment on a Friday night?? You might see you money on a Monday or even a Tuesday during holiday season. Compare that to a 500ms blocktime and final seatllement in only 2 or 3 seconds. This is a place where EOS could really fill the strong need of both customers and retailers. While being cheaper and faster at the same time.