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Mobile phone credit cards

They’re going to begin testing “credit cards” “embedded” into cell phones in Australia. I think this is a great idea — if you can use an RFID chip or something similar to perform transactions from a device with a screen and keyboard, you’re in a great spot. You can verify the merchant and the amount and authorize the transaction, perhaps even type in a PIN code or use a biometric scanner, all from a device that you own and can trust. As long as the communication is properly signed and encrypted, this could dramatically reduce credit card fraud. Of course in reality they’re probably just slapping a chip onto the phone and making it act like a normal credit card, but hey, one can dream.