America set to embrace wallet phones

With Europe's first commercial rollout just launched, analysts are predicting that mobile wallets -- such as phones with near-field communication (NFC) technology embedded -- are gearing up to take on the US too.

A new report from researchers at In-Stat forecasts that in five years' time, wallet phones will be owned by 25 million North Americans.

According to the analysts, unlike traditional notions of 'm-commerce', wallet phones will take off due to the versatility of using the devices both to buy items and to access content. NFC is thought to be the most likely standard to develop for mobile wallets.

But consumers look set to need some persuading to adopt the technology: just one-third of those queried said they would use a mobile wallet; one-third said they weren't interested in using one; and another third claimed indifference.

The main barrier to adoption will be cost, according to In-Stat, with 72 per cent of people put off by the possibility of paying extra fees to use mobile wallets. Other barriers included concerns about privacy and what would happen if the phone was lost.