The NFC (Near Field Communications, not National Football Conference) wave for payments is on the horizon. As Parks Associates’ Jennifer Kent suggests in the above video interview, progress on mobile payments is steady. An initiative to convert payment terminals to include NFC capability (EMV) by 2015 will be a big driver for mobile payments at the retail level from mobile phones and devices.

The mobile payment methods are more secure (hence, the initiative to add NFC capability to payment terminals), than traditional credit cards. As would be expected, younger people are more likely to adopt this technology, as compared to older generations. Kent points out that other applications (e.g. bumping phones to transfer photos) are familiarizing people with the sort of behavior needed for mobile payments.  In the above interview, Kent also provides insight on the mobile payments panel she moderated which included speakers from Dwolla, Shop Savvy and Citi.

Hmmm, in the not too distant future, tightwads like this author won’t be able to use the, “I left my wallet at home,” excuse when trying to weasel out of his fair share. I guess the new excuse will be, “My phone battery died.”

[ViodiTV coverage of CONNECTIONS™ brought to you by Parks Associates]