The system's called "MONDEX" - it's capable of a lot more than simply being a cash card.

Bob buys all his cigarettes with his NFC mobile; which cancer will he get first - lungs, head or testicular?

Where does the profit come in, do the retailers pay or do I, is this an entirely benevolent payment method.

If it is any cost at all to me to pay, top up the balance or extract funds then I won't be doing it over real money.

Of course with the history of some ringtones selling at £1.50 each then stupidity may lose the battle but win the war.

How? It makes more sense if you're loyal to your service provider, but less if you like your handset and want to change provider. So it makes more sense for the *service providers*.

There has to be a standard to transfer whatever credit you have between secure stores, doesn't there? Or is this just another way to force "loyalty"? Personally I won't be taking "advantage" of this sort of service until I can be guaranteed to be able to move it off either handset or SIM card, same as I can port my number.

In the bad old days, I would have to go to great lengths to lose both my phone and my wallet. Now I can lose both in one simple step. Now that's progress!!!

I suppose Naomi Campbell could load it up with a few quid before launching it at a minion and avoid all that unpleasant litigation...

Erm, if data is in the phone memory or SIM, does this mean it needs juice to work (unlike your standard RFiD oyster card)... Be a bummer if you can't get home because your battery is flat...

Steal a phone and get a load of cash plus an oyster card.

I remember a MONDEX trial that took place in Exeter about 5-7 years ago. If I remember rightly all the students there were given MONDEX cards as NUS cards and they could top them up at cashpoints in the city before using them to pay for stuff.

The end result? Nobody bothered because everyone has a debit card already - what's the point in having another card that you then have to load up with cash using your debit card?! The MONDEX cards were also accepted in less places than standard VISA debit, Maestro or Switch cards.

Until the day arrives where people can dispense with wallets altogether (i.e. when cash is no longer required *anywhere*) combining NFC payment with the phone is a bit pointless in my opinion - it's not much more effort to have a card in your wallet (like the Barclaycard) that is a combination of Oyster, debit and credit card.

...this is a marvellous, inventive and unusual achievement which seems like a hugely attractive prospect but sadly lacks any useful application.

This would have been vastly more amusing had it been 100% literal.

Good to see we're only several years behind Japan.

http://www.nttdocomo.com/pr/2003/000945.html

Although thank god we've not resorted to Infrared.

They are defining two 'flat battery' working modes:

- one when the mobile seems shut down, but there is some power left

- one totally powerless, so the SIM and NFC chip are powered from the reader (like the typical RFID tag)

So there's still some hope left.

You can check it up here:

http://www.gsmworld.com/documents/gsma_nfc_tech_guide_vs1.pdf

We've been doing this for years. Dial a number (which includes the amount you wish to pay), put the phone over a device that exchanges some beeps with it and it's done.

Given that the only place in the country that uses Oyster is London and that means approx 10% of the population, how do they expect to foist this off on the remaining 90% of us, most of whom manage quite well with cash and debit cards.

Can one set you phone to ring with a ringtone when a purchase is made? E.G. crazy frog in threshers.

Immmnuggg ming ming mooooooorrooo morrre ringg dings a dings morrroe