Filed under: Investing
We're getting closer to the day when your smartphone replaces your wallet, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.
How do we know? Earlier this month, mobile payments processor Isis went live for those who have an Android smartphone with built-in support for near-field communications. Three of the nation's largest carriers support the technology: AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon. So does Google . It offers the Isis app at its Google Play store.
To get started, shoppers download the app to a compatible NFC phone and load banking and credit card information. Checking out is a two-step process: Select the account to use and then tap the phone to a specialized point-of-sale module.
Black Friday is likely to be the same mess it always is, so don't expect to see too many sharp-elbowed consumers shopping with Isis this weekend. Yet next holiday season could be a different story. Juniper Research estimates that we'll spend some $1.3 trillion in mobile payments annually by 2017.
Do you believe Juniper's estimates? Are you signed up for Isis? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then now and then leave a comment to let us know where you stand.
Get our No. 1 stock for 2014
The market stormed out to huge gains across 2013, leaving investors on the sidelines burned. However, opportunistic investors can still find huge winners. The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has just hand-picked one such opportunity in our new report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2014." To find out which stock it is and read our in-depth report, simply click here. It's free!
The article Meet the Technology That Could Forever Change Black Friday originally appeared on Fool.com.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
