cell phones as debit cards

Filed in archive Technology on October 13, 2003

There is a pretty nicely written article in siliconvalley.com about another try to bring a payment functionality into mobiles.

"We are conditioned to think that a credit card is a plastic rectangle," said Cho Eun-sang, a senior manager at Harex Infotech, among the first companies to develop the technology. "But it is actually the data on the strip at the back, and data can be stored anywhere."

Instead of handing over credit or debit cards that get swiped, users type their passcode on the phone keypad, point the device at a special receiver on a checkout counter and press a key. It's as simple as operating a TV remote."

Techdirt has more good content on this topic.