7 Ways Smart Phones are the Wallets of the Future

Remember what it was like in the old days (circa 2000)? You needed multiple arms to juggle the myriad of electronic  gadgets and accessories we all carried around. You had your laptop, cell phone, PDA, and other bright, shiny accessories. Nowadays, everything is just consolidated into our smart phone. So why not your wallet?

The trend is starting to take hold and major retailers are coming on board. Here are 7 ways that mobile payments are hitting the mainstream.

Last week, Starbucks expanded their mobile payment option to almost 300 locations in New York. The app was developed to take the place of the Starbuck's payment card and allows users to simply scan & pay with the barcode scanner-friendly design on their phone.. 

PayPal has developed a two-click mobile payment system called mobile Express Checkout. Many of the merchants using the beta-test version of the application have reported great success—doubling sales in some instances.

Earlier this year, Twitter creator, Jack Dorsey, developed a new mobile payment application and portable card reader called Square. that allows users to accept credit card payments with their  mobile phones. Simply swipe the card through the gadget that attaches to the phone's headphone jack and money is transferred from the card to your Square account.  

Another swipe device that came out in August is the Complete Credit Card Solution from financial software giant Intuit and Mophie, makers of the JuicePack battery for iPhone. Unappealing name aside, it's similar to the Square device. though little has been heard or seen of the device since its unveiling.

Mobile point-of-sale (POS) is another technology that retailers are investigating. Bling Nation came out with a new Mobile POS product a few months ago. The technology uses a sticker, or BlingTag, embedded with an RFID device and near field communication (NFC) to authenticate transactions  between your phone and a Bling Nation payment console. Simply hover/swipe your tag-emblazoned smart phone over the console and your purchase is completed. 

Late last week, AT&T announced deals with several mobile payment providers that would allow AT&T mobile users to buy online goods and services with their phones, the costs of which would then be added to  their monthly cell phone bills. Deals such as these could pose huge threats to the VISAs and Mastercards of the world—essentially turning telecommunication providers into financial brokers and payment processors. Verizon and T-Mobile, seeking to establish the aforementioned efficiencies, are also rumored to be looking for a deal.

Now you can buy the stuff you really want

At the end of August, the young startup Cimbal announced the launch of its software-based NFC Payment Network, which seeks to satisfy all the above. A consumer- and merchant-friendly software-only approach to mobile payments, the company is currently working with department stores and grocery retailers. CEO Christopher Boone tells Mashable that they aim to make Cimbal’s mobile payment solution available at these merchants as soon as Q4 of 2010. 

The process of morphing your smart phone and your wallet has  really hit its stride over the last few years. Finally, timing and technology seem to be in sync. It doesn't hurt that a report from Juniper Research shows that mobile payments  are expected to be over a $200 billion market by 2012.

Have you tried a form of mobile payment? What do you think?  

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