Cell Phone Technology Aims To Make Wallets A Thing Of The Past

Posted by Devin Categories: Smartphones, Misc. Tech, Wireless / WiFi

Pretty much everyone has a cell phone these days, right?  Some have cameras, some have Internet and email access, some play mp3’s, and some can even be used to watch TV segments.  Heck, some even have the capability to do all of the above.  Phones these days can do nearly anything, so why not store your credit or debit card information on the phone, so you don’t even need to take your wallet when you leave the house?  The process is quite simple, and it’s already in use in Japan.

At the simplest level, all that’s needed is to embed phones with a short-range radio chip to beam credit card information to a terminal at a store register. It’s not unlike the wireless system used to pay tolls on many highways or the SpeedPass key chain wand used to buy gas at Exxon Mobile Corp. pumps.

Mastercard International has already been testing out this technology, which they call PayPass,  since 2003, and they may even conduct a market trial sometime next year.

Read More | USA Today