Ford Motor Company has released a its Looking Further with Ford publication for 2015 [PDF link] that includes studies commissioned about the future of many different technologies as well as expected trends. Bitcoin made a debut with four mentions across the publication.

The publication is compiled by Sheryl Connelly from Global Consumer Trends and Futuring at Ford and the first mention of Bitcoin comes in comparison to digital currency apps such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet:

Out with the purse and the messenger bagtoday, people dont want to carry stuff, and increasingly, they dont need to. Bitcoin, Apple Pay and Google Wallet are displacing the need for physical wallets and money clips. The rise of subscription-based shopping services means we can avoid the store. Wearable gadgets and smartphone apps have dismantled the need for physical keys. With these technologies, consumers are able to pare necessities down to their essenceless baggage, more nimbleness. Across the globe, the advent of these technologies brings a transformation in the mechanics of how we pay, how and where we are marketed to, and who we trust with our most valuable information. Convenience is at a premium, and consumers are opting in for itbut at what price?

The second mention applies to a Philippines-based mobile wallet named coins.ph. The mobile wallet is cited as part of an emerging market seeking an audience of mobile users who do not have secure baking and need to send money to family and friends.

The unbanked as an audience for Bitcoin has been a long-time argument for the killer app and efficacy of Bitcoin. It has been mentioned that sectors that lack stable central baking and a proliferation of mobile devices may be excellent breeding grounds for Bitcoin services. As far back as 2012 this has been a long-term view of analysts looking at market trendsfor example, Africa still has a strong user base for this and since 2013 businesses have been courting that audience.

Digital wallet services such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet enable the wireless flow of digital currency and give consumers and merchants a chance to eschew hand-over-counter transactions for using mobile software. Bitcoin fits into this paradigm similarly because bitcoins can only be transferred digitally (although there are solutions that allow for paper wallets to transfer value) and as a result, Bitcoin-related wallets and apps dovetail nicely with mobile payment paradigms.

Connellys paragraph addressing Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Bitcoin presents a reasonable expectation about what mobile users want from a digital currency experience, but ends with a question that suggests potential friction or problems.

The takeaway of the report from Ford isnt so much that report has nice things to say about Bitcoin, but that Bitcoin itself is being seen by a major corporation as a strong future trend that competes with established companies such as Apple and Google in a venue that both are attempting to carve out market share.

Continue reading here:

Bitcoin cited in Fords 2015 Global Consumer Trends and Futuring report