AT&T and Verizon Wireless are readying a mobile payment system that could render plastic obsolete
By Peter Eichenbaum and Margaret Collins
Smartphones may soon displace some of the estimated 1 billion credit and debit cards in American wallets. AT&T (T), Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile are planning a venture to develop a mobile payment system that works with smartphones, posing a new threat to Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA), three people with direct knowledge of the plan say. The partners aim to test the system at stores in Atlanta and three other U.S. cities, the people say, though they didn't provide a timetable. The trial would be the carriers' biggest effort to spur mobile payments in the U.S. "This is definitely a game changer," says industry consultant Richard K. Crone. Mobile carriers "are the biggest recurring billers in every market. They are experts at processing payments."
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