Although the idea of using your phone as an electronic wallet has been around for some time, the concept has never really caught on.  Today, we see growing popularity in contactless credit cards in Australia.  Mastercard's PayPass and Visa's Pay Wave credit cards allow consumers to make purchases by simply waving the card at a sensor.   

There are currently thoughts about implementing similar near field communications technologies to smart phones.  If implemented successfully, a person's phone can simply be used to pay for a purchase by waiving it in front of a cash register or payment terminal.  Near Field Communications (NFC) trails are being run by Google with their Android operating system in the United States.  ANZ and Visa have launched similar trials in Australia using the iPhone.  This technology typically requires a microSD card slot, which the iPhone lacks.  Implementation of the iPhone is expected using iPhone cases or adapters.  Current PayWave terminals limit transactions to fewer than one hundred dollars.   

Apple is working on its own technology standard and has no plans of implementing a standard NFC chip in the next generation iPhone.  For those who are familiar with Apple's business model, this should come as no surprise. The company tends to want greater control over immerging technology and their products.