This idea is not entirely new or original, and I think it is finally making its way into the US from Korea. Why not embed an RFID chip in your cellphone, and use a fingerprint reader or PIN as a security measure to enable you to use your phone to pay for items by swiping your phone near a reader much like the "MobilPass."
Transactions would be faster, and costs to the retailer and customer could potentially be reduced if the payment system wasn't on the VISA network due to their high fees. The charges could be linked to your debit, credit, or cellphone bill.
A joint venture between a major wireless provider and a major bank, or a consortium could fund the network and price transactions below VISA. It would be a reversal of the fee structure.
An additional use could be to wire money to someone else's phone through yours, though the security aspect of this might fail.
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Similar idea has become true and popular in China. Online consumers can charge the price of the online merchandise they buy to their cell phone bills by simply put in your cell phone number and password. The same idea should be adoptable in US as well.
I have no idea why the finger print scan is not sweeping the globe. Its cheap and good. It should open my car door & start the engine, too. I like the cell phone as payment device, good idea.
I like the idea. The finger print scanner would need to be a must. This would also make the cell phone more useful as a remote control for starting your car, opening the garage door, watching your kids from your security cameras, ...
I'm assuming that the RFID chip can only be read within about 12" of the transceiver, and that the chip is disabled unless your finger print authorizes the transaction displayed on your phone. The risk is that I could put my own RFID reader under the edge of the counter and capture the authorization codes, to use elsewhere in my own fraudulent transactions. The same protection to customers aforded by credit cards companies to dispute transactions, would need to be given to cell phone transactions.