A few years ago, cash transactions were replaced by cards. Today, there are technologies that can replace cards with mobile phones! VISA has been working toward making these technologies practical. Currently, three different modes of mobile phone payments have been formulated. They are an on-phone application, NFC (near field communication) and a VISA app that is embedded into the SIM card.

An in-phone app presents an easy to use interface for money transfers. There are plenty of settings which can be used to customize the tool according to user preferences. This technology will most probably become available for use in 2010.

NFC has already been seen in mobile handsets like the Nokia 6212 and Nokia 6216. An NFC proficient mobile phone has an antenna which when brought close to the reader, can communicate with it. Passwords or codes can be set to enable transactions so there's no threat to your bank account in case of a mobile phone theft.

The embedded SIM card app, is being developed by VISA and is expected to become existent approximately 2 years from now. The SIM will contain a mini-webserver, which is platform and mobile phone independent. Thus you can use the SIM card for mobile transactions with any mobile handset and mobile OS.

Despite the fact that transactions with best mobile phones will make things easier, the safety of these techniques remains to be seen. For now, watch the video below that demonstrates all the three methods mentioned above.