As a woman, it’s hard to believe anything could ever have trumped my preoccupation with keeping track of my purse. But low-and-behold, over the past couple of years, my purse takes a backseat to my phone. Ideally, when I’m out anyway, my phone is in my purse, but the point is – in most instances, it’s more important to me that I have my phone nearby than the bag that carries my wallet. So it’s not particularly surprising that a recent study finds mobile phone payments could replace cash within the next four years.

According to a study conducted by the UK arm of Forrester Research and Paypal, consumers will be paying more by mobile means than with cash by 2016.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m waiting at the cash register, I’ve already got my phone in hand, taking that five minutes of just standing around to check my texts, check my email, check the news, etc. So instead of digging through my purse…to find my wallet…to find my card (or cash occasionally)…how much easier it truly would be to make a mobile phone payment.

Of course, the study referenced above does come from research conducted in the UK, so its relevance here in the U.S. is questionable. And though consumers like me seem perfectly poised to embrace increased ease and frequency of mobile payments, merchants tend to drag their feet in this regard, particularly in the States. That said, all Starbucks locations across the country are evidently equipped with the means to process mobile payments for Blackerry and Apple IOS users.

What do you think? Does making mobile payments at checkout appeal to you? Why or why not?

Related posts:

1. Pleasure vs. Pain of Spending Cash Limits Impulse Food Buys [STUDY] After spending 6 months studying the spending habits of 1,000...
2. How Will You Spend Your Christmas Cash? If you got Christmas cash this year, what do you...
3. Saving Money On Your Mortgage: Less House, More Cash Go with less house and have more cash leftover for...