Shortly after writing an article noting mobile phones are expected to become the wallet of the future, a CDFreaks reader sent along an earlier article describing how the technology is growing but is "still a ways away."
"We're not too many years off where the restaurant will just send the bill to your smart device," according to eBay CEO John Donahoe, who was speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm: TECH Conference.
Gartner predicts by 2012 that mobile transactions will grow up to 2.4 billion in Asia and 221 million in North America -- I look forward to seeing how the technology develops here in the United States. I've seen it used in Japan and have noticed both positives and negatives, but the U.S. infrastructure will be a bit different than in the U.S., analysts predict.
In Japan, mobile phones are extremely popular and citizens love the ability to use their mobile phone as a device to pay for everything, while it's unknown if that same craze will become popular here in the United States. If not, then it will be up to companies hoping to cash in on the commerce to persuade consumers of the benefits of using their mobile phone as a payment option for everything.
Wireless phone carriers will also look forward to seeing the use of mobile phones diversify further, as they'll have a unique chance to host wireless payments, which will help generate revenue.
Aside from being able to pay for subway rides and enter a car or house, mobile Internet shopping is expected to explode even further in the United States. ABI Research now values mobile Internet shopping at $544 million in 2009, but that number will explode up to $1.9 billion in 2010.
In the article I posted the other day, a few comments indicated security risks if the phone is lost or stolen -- as noted by koba, however, it's possible to deactivate the service by "calling my phone" and entering a "4-digit pin code which locks the whole phone," so it cannot be used if found.
