It’s only a question of time until you can use your mobile (iPhone) in order to pay for things in the shops, though getting there will require lots more work on transaction security, but developers are already looking at solutions which enable use of the device as a payment processing tool.
A recent example of such development is currently being tested in a New York store. It’s codenamed Square and involves a small plastic card reader which plugs into the iPhone’s headphone socket. Vendors can use this card reader to read the magnetic strip on the card, prices can be input on screen and customers can sign for their goods there (or, in future likely input their PIN code).
There’s a few nifty touches: customers can enter their email in or
