I don't particularly care for the concept as a total replacement for a physical card. Phones malfunction, lose power, etc. And it would be an absolute nightmare if one loses their phone while traveling if said phone is also one's credit card. While losing one's wallet while traveling is bad, I know I can get a replacement AMEX card quickly which is good enough to get home. A lost phone raises a whole set of questions about getting replacement ability to use one's accounts.

That said, if it were something like a Mobil Speedpass that was an augmentation to the physical card, then I might be more receptive to the idea for smaller transactions. It would come in handy for the quick trip to the grocery, gas station and similar things.

comes from the facebook and twitter crowd. what percentage of the people use facebook and twitter. what percentage of the money crowd use facebook and twitter. i can barely dial on my samson 3s. the damned thing ate most of my phone numbers. i took it in, and they said "...oh the thing cannot see your chip. you will have to reload it" i what? i have confidence in something that flakey. it's ok for a kid to use to buy coffee laties, but what about when i want to charge 10 or 20 grand for some thing or other. i'm going to send a radio signal to wherever ???

The technology is one hurdle (it would be a lot of phones to replace); companies jockeying for position in the market is another. My new phone has NFC payment capability, but AT&T has blocked the default Google Wallet in favor of their own limited scheme, so it's fairly useless for me now.

Even if that does sort itself out within in a decade or so, there is a chance that something better/cheaper/faster/more-secure will come along, and we'll be right back where we started.

I don't see how this is even remotely possible. If somebody told me that, I'd move away from him/her slowly while avoiding all sudden movements. :D

You actually raise an extremely good point here, what happens if you lose the phone? How can you buy a new phone if your lost phone was your credit/debit card? I doubt my bank would FedEx me a new iphone...

Your phone isn't actually a debit/credit card, it's just linked to your accounts. For that matter so is the plastic.

If you lose your card, you call and get it canceled and a new one issued. If you lose your phone they'll link the accounts to a new phone, and likely also issue a new card number.

Of course...I'm not sure how you call to report your phone stolen..:)

How do you buy the new phone though?

long ago, my phone was about the size of a brick. phones got smaller and smaller, and finally fit into a pocket. they also became very easy to use. now, they are well on the size of a brick again. 6"x 3" and over 1/2" thick. how do you safely store the thing and transport it.

You missed the point. What I mean was even when they have the technology to use their phones, they only do it for small things.

Of course Japanese use cash for the majority if things, but when they use their cell phones (which they actually do quite a bit now if you go where younger people go), it is only for small items.

Makes sense though, PayPass has a per transaction limit of between 35-100$ depending on the country you are in. Last time I was in Canada it was 50$ if I remember correctly.

What about people who carry several different cards? Are they going to have to unlock their phones, open an app and select which card they want to use? That seems an awful lot slower than just whipping out the right card and using contactless payments, or even chip and pin.

I'm part of the "tech crowd" and I don't even carry a phone with me unless I'm in a foreign country. I do carry my tablet PC, which I guess could run the same app, but I'm not going to take that huge thing out of its case every time I go to the bar.

Even my text messaging and Twitter obsessed friends can't keep their phones charged all day, and that's with spare batteries in their bags. I can't see it taking off by 2016, personally.

There are a few different ways phone payment works. The ones I'm familiar with just do it through your phone contract. Think of your phone like mobile PayPal.

That's what people first said about credit/debit cards. Great for getting groceries or a meal, but not to be trusted for large purchases like airline tickets or hotel rooms. People felt more secure using a physical check with a physical signature for these things, rather than a piece of plastic. But times have changed, and we are now comfortable with credit cards for large amounts as well.


The bottom line is that once we get away from contact cards and move toward contactless, the chip can be embedded in anything: a phone, a keyfob, whatever. There is no need for an ISO 7810 card anymore.

The need for a card may cease to exist technically, but I doubt people are going to move away from it. We stick to what we're comfortable with, what it is conventional, and what works. Credit cards, as they're designed today, accomplish all three of those things.

It's happening already:
http://www.google.com/search?q=paypa...GKbv4QSw1YHADw

For some strange reason the credit card companies insist on you will want to stick the tag on the back of your mobile phone.

Google Wallet
 

Im sure this all varies tremendously by country, so to preface, I live in the U.S.

I had he Google Wallet app on my Galaxy Nexus phone for about 3 months in late 2011/ early 2012. It allowed me to tap-and-pay at any credit card reader that used NFC (in my case NYC taxis and drug stores, quite frequently). It was pretty handy.

Unfortunately there are many competing players in the mobile payments space and Verizon Wireless shut down the ability to use Google Wallet in early/ mid 2012. NFC phone payments will happen but it might not be quite as convenient, or happen as quickly, as people want given the various parties involved jockeying to take the lead/ blocking each other. Verizon blocked Google but has no alternative of its own!

Paying with Paypal is probably the most convenient method of mobile payment right now. It's great for paying friends because there are no fees on personal transactions from a bank account and you only need their email address to pay them - no routing numbers or bank accounts which I don't like to give out. Payments from a card cost either you or the recipient (your choice) a percentage fee that I'd imagine is similar to a credit card fee charged to merchants on a traditional credit card (not a merchant so do not know how much this fee is).