Mobile Payments - Not Quite Ready For Prime Time

Big players such as Samsung and Visa and others are starting to test using mobile phones with near field communications (NFC) for payment at point of sale in place of credit cards. But small businesses don't need to do anything yet.

"2011 may finally be the year when mobile payment, or using a mobile phone to pay for a transaction, will come into adulthood. While the concept of mobile payments certainly isn't new, big questions still remain, especially for the businesses who will need to deploy the systems, perform the transaction, and monitor the payments.

While the big players, like credit card companies and SIM card makers, are eyeing the market, they're also trying to make sure they get the timing right on when to roll out the technologies that are needed to support the system."