Mobile phones to replace wallet and keys

These days, it seems that most Americans carry three things in their pockets or purses at all times: keys, a wallet and a phone.

But, in the not-too-distant future, you may be able to leave the wallet and the keys behind.

The mobile phone is staging a coup.

Some analysts say that within five years, mobile phones will be able to make electronic payments, open doors, access subways, clip coupons and possibly act as another form of identification.

At the end of 2008, there were an estimated 4 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide, according to the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency. That’s about two cell phone subscriptions for every three people.

The fact that phones are everywhere and are commonly used to access the Internet and compute means they’re well poised to overtake wallets…

Link: cnn.com