Pay-as-you-go is about to take on a whole new meaning for Canadian shoppers.
Canadian banks and credit card companies are set to announce a new setof guidelines governing mobile payments that willeventually move consumers towards using smartphones instead of carryingaround wallets with credit cards and bank cards, the Globeand Mail reports today.
The new rules will set standards allowing credit card and banking datato be embedded in smartphones themselves rather than just in theplastic credit and debit cards traditionally carried around byconsumers.
The shift will not only give consumers more flexible options for makingpayments, it will open up a whole new potential revenue stream formobile carriers because they could start charging fees for storing suchsensitive information on smartphone SIM cards.
Rogers Communications and BCE Inc.have already run trials using nearfield communication (NFC) enabled smartphones. The newmobile paymentsguidelines, which will be voluntarily adopted by Canada’s majorfinancial institutions, could be announced as early as today, the Globe says.