"Every morning millions of people repeat their 'keys, wallet, phone' mantra before leaving home for work to make sure they have not forgotten anything.
But will the day come when we can strike 'wallet' off the list because the mobile phone will be used for all our payments?
The key development in payments technology is the ability of mobiles to receive payments, according to Dave Birch, director of Consult Hyperion.
So how will these payments work?
App appeal
Whatever people's views on the future of cash and cheques, there is an inevitability about the increased use of mobiles to make payments.
'Cash is unlikely ever to disappear, but its decline may even accelerate as mobile payments come in,' says a report by the Payments Council, which oversees payments strategy and has a membership that includes banks and other payment system providers.
'By 2050, using cash could well be a minority activity, much more the preserve of informal transactions.'
A number of niche businesses have been developing systems that operate safely, conveniently and cheaply for mobile owners.
One of the first mass-marketed operations is the 'Send Money' app for the iPhone which was launched recently by Paypal.
This allows two owners of iPhones to 'bump' their phones together - by tapping them against each other physically - in order to make a connection and send money to each other.
The bumping may be a bit of a gimmick, but the technology that lies behind it signals how future payments may be made.
Having accepted a connection which flashes up on the screen, one person can send another some money from their bank account or an account they have set up with Paypal.
Paypal effectively is the middle man - providing a holding account for each so the individuals do not have to exchange their bank details.
Its profit comes from charging some users, including business users. For example, if the sender uses a credit or debit card for the payment, there is a fee of 3.4% of the payment plus 20p. The sender can choose whether to pay the fee or pass it on to the recipient" ...more
