Using SMART PHONES To Pay For Things Could Dominate Cash and Credit Cards by 2012. Sounds Good.

The only thing I seemingly don’t use my smart phone for is to get my rocks off, and that’s only because I’m waiting for my fleshlight attachment to come in the mail. A study is showing that smart phones could supplant credit cards and cash as the dominant way of paying for sheezy out in the real world, and I welcome it.

I Heart Chaos:

NFC payment systems are taking off really slowly in the US, but according to a new study, they could be the dominant form of retail payment by 2020. That doesn’t seem like long, but think of how quickly credit and debit card payments took off once the technology for quick, secure transactions was available to retailers and banks.

The study – conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center – surveyed a total of 1,021 “internet experts and other internet users.” It found that 65 percent of those who responded believe that swiping a smartphone as a form of payment will become widely adopted by the end of the decade.

The rest of the respondents felt that security concerns would be an issue in terms of adoption, though it’s important to note that not everyone questioned was an expert – in addition to the researchers and professors who were named, many of the respondents were anonymous. Even still, the results show that people are becoming increasingly comfortable with the concept. This shouldn’t be too surprising considering that many of us already rarely use cash thanks to credit and debit cards – though concerns about NFC payment security aren’t entirely unfounded.

I’m for it. One less thing to fumble around with, and God knows that thing is probably already in my friggin’ hand at all times.