A secure and reliable competing network that reduces retailers costs would be welcomed news for any one. Three of the top four U.S. mobile service providers — Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile USA — are working together to build a network that would let consumers pay for goods with their phones.Smart phones may soon displace some of the estimated 1 billion credit and debit cards in consumer wallets.

Major banks, mobile phone companies and card processing networks are vying to enter the emerging U.S. market for mobile payments, which some say could eventually replace credit and debit cards as a primary means of payment.
While the technical details are sketchy, the service would let customers make purchases by holding a smartphone in front of an electronic reader in stores. Transactions would be processed by Discover Financial Services (DFS), the fourth-biggest payments network in the U.S. behind Visa, MasterCard, and American Express (AXP). London-based Barclays (BCS) would help manage the accounts

The idea behind mobile payments is for consumers to be able to wave their phone at a machine to pay for items such as train tickets, potentially eliminating the need to carry a wallet.