Automation geeks here in the US often have a secret fantasy that, one day, we'll be able to just wave our phones and pay for things at places, ranging from vending machines to retail stores. Indeed, such technology is already out there and in use outside the US (most commonly in Japan). Well, today we are one small step closer to making it happen here, thanks to MasterCard, although there's still a ways to go before our mobile payment dreams become a reality.
MasterCard, one of the world's largest payment companies, is rolling out a service that will allow banks to incorporate payment cards into mobile devices so that people can eventually leave the wallet at home and simply use their lifeblood cell phones to conduct everyday transactions. And, given the language MasterCard is using, it might actually become a reality sooner than later. "We are talking to serious banks … and not about trials, but about commercial launches," MasterCard mobile VP James Anderson told Reuters.
These could eventually
go the way of the dodo
Of course, such a thing won't spring up overnight, although Anderson said that the next two years will likely show substantial development of mobile payment systems from those banks. The financial industry is apparently also well into talks with the telecom industry to make it happen, according to Nokia's director for Strategic Alliances & Partnering Gerhard Romen. Once that gets hammered out, the remaining challenge will be getting payment-system-enabled phones into the hands of the masses.
