The Smartphone as Wallet

Anyone still use the term "billfold"? (First known use in 1895, according to Merriam-Webster.)


Google wants to turn your smartphone into a wallet. (San Jose Mercury News, 8/8/2011)

Excerpt:  In a Mountain View convenience store, Marc Freed-Finnegan carries a bottle of water up to the cashier, who scans it and announces the price. Freed-Finnegan touches his smartphone to a gray plastic sensor labeled "PayPass," and "Information Sent" appears on his phone's screen, with a MasterCard image and a few digits of his card number.

Freed-Finnegan, who oversees the forthcoming Google (GOOG) Wallet service that is expected to become available to the public for this first time later this month, has just paid with his phone.

Google Wallet uses a technology called Near Field Communication (NFC), short-range communication systems that can transmit secure credit card data within a range of about 1.6 inches, allowing a smartphone to become a virtual credit card or prepaid cash card.