By Jonathan Russell
New technology currently under development will enable mobile phones of the future to act as credit cards, it has been claimed.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, which will allow phones to validate bank details and offer credit and debit card services, is set to become a standard application on all Ericsson mobile phones by 2010, according to ZD Net UK.
Vice-president of systems architecture at Ericsson, Hakan Djuphammar, reportedly told the company's Business Innovation Forum in Stockholm: "It's a two-way, bio-directional RFID communication link that makes this device work as a tag or reader.
"All sorts of things will be enabled by [RFID], a small piece of technology, but with an ecosystem around it that opens up tremendous opportunities for innovation."
In addition to banking facilities the RFID-enabled mobile phones will also have the ability to act as everything from house and car keys to concert tickets, according to the website.
The Ericsson Business Forum took place on the 23rd and 24th of June this year and featured presentations and demonstrations from the company and other industry leaders of their latest technological advances.
