"Ring-Ring" Might Soon Mean Ka-Ching

Readers of the technology industry tea leaves could reach one of two conclusions regarding widespread deployment of a global pay-by-mobile-phone infrastructure: either it so close it will be ubiquitous within three or four years or it so overhyped by mobile carriers that it could be a decade away. The GSM Association, the industry umbrella organization of GSM mobile network operators, announced two major initiatives in which mobile phones would serve as transaction devices. One is a mobile money transfer plan that would enable migrant workers to wire money back home to their families more quickly and easily than existing methods. The other is a worldwide "pay-buy mobile" initiative that would enable payment by mobile phones equipped with chips similar to those on smart cards