Word on the street is that Verizon Wireless and AT&T are working on a new plan to replace credit and debit cards with smartphones, says Bloomberg. They will also team up with T-Mobile on the venture, pooling the resources of the 1st, 2nd, and fourth largest national wireless carriers.
A testing phase is reportedly scheduled to be conducted in Atlanta and 3 other unnamed US cities. Subscribers would simply wave their smartphone at a device located near the register.
“This is definitely a game-changer,” said industry consultant Richard Crone, adding these “are the biggest recurring billers in every market. They are experts at processing payments.”
Discover, the fourth-largest payments network in the US., will handle the behind-the-scenes payment processing systems.
Mobile payments are the logical next step for consumers,” said AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel.
