Digital Compass

If you compare to Europe and Asia, payment by mobile phone here is still in its early stage. Experts says that it will take a while to actually evaluate how good this technology works for users, Two types of payment technology exist .SMS [Short Message Service], or texting, offers a transaction by entering amount details into your mobile phone and sending it to the payee. With NFC [ Near Field Communication ], you need to swipe your mobile just like a credit card near a terminal. These two types uses phone Internet browser to get remote Web server to approve payment.

NFC is being used in [contact less cards ]" that alot of card issuers are introducing for use at special terminals in stores., NFC on cell phones is only being used in Asia.

SMS is far most the easiest technology in United States because it works on every mobile networks and doesn't require any special software to work. Visa is also concentrating on SMS transactions, operating with U.S. and Canadian banks like PNC ,SunTrust and Wells Fargo on review that provide card holders get SMS on their mobile phones when they tend pay for something with a credit card.

There are some U.S. companies focusing on cellphone payments, both with their own and also with the card companies. There is a service called Obopay that lets you open a PayPal kinda account to deposit cash and install software into your mobile to make or receive payments with other Obopay customers. right now it has a mobile pilot program with Citibank.

This might get much better and much bigger in the coming future than PayPal, Alert Pay, SafePay etc, and much better than a credit card merchant account, Western Union, wire transfer, and all the other options. Anyone with a mobile phone will be able to pay merchants directly.