It’s great news that your cell phone can be doubled up as payment cards. According to recent reports Verizon and AT&T are together planning to bring a phone payment system, and are said to be tying up with T-Mobile to introduce smart phones as a replacement for your credit cards. In future you may be able to make your payments using your phone instead of your credit card.
Till now there are no exact details on the technicality of this process, according to market strategists customers can make the payments simply by holding their phone infront of an electronic reader. The phone will be emitting a radio wave that will connect with the electronic reader in the shop.
This can have many benefits. We generally carry our phones along with us, and thus will be convenient to make payments. It is also more secure to make your payment with your phone as the electronic reader may ask for a password before the payment is made. Also you will be able to use your phone to make payments to multiple accounts. The retailers too would benefit from this as there would be no fees as those charged by the card providers.
However, there are some disadvantages too. The phone company will be able to know your banking details, and the shops you are using. There can be an extra $10 to $15 charged per handset. The retailer may have to face costs around $200. Still, if this technology does come into effect this will be the more popular mode of payment than the credit cards.