Through constant innovation, credit card technology made sure that plastic would continue to make paying for transactions more convenient and more secure. The plastic acquired the familiar magnetic stripe and, for a while, it seemed like credit cards were set to become smart cards with embedded chips. Although the concept of smart credit cards were not well accepted, current credit card technology is aiming for an even daring wave of the future: touchless or contactless credit cards.

Contactless technology in credit cards means you pay for purchases simply by tapping your card on a special card reader. You no longer have to wait in a queue to have your card swiped and sign a receipt. The MasterCard PayPass is one example of this contactless credit card technology. Your transaction time: less than a second.

Issuers of credit cards are hoping that contactless payments will be readily accepted by consumers. The realisation of the card industry's vision of the future rests on this crucial interim step. For the industry and many others, there is the belief that contactless payments made through credit cards will lead eventually to the time when devices like cell phones will be used as electronic wallets, carrying consumers' credit cards, keys to home and office, coupon offers and many more.

Ironically, this vision of the future of credit cards may mean the end of credit cards as you know them. Your contactless credit cards could now be built into credit-enabled mobile phones. This opens up diverse uses, such as:

- Paying for usual purchases at stores and merchants

- Purchasing, storing, and exchanging electronic tickets at various live events

- Purchasing and exchanging electronic tickets to buses, subways, and other mass transit systems.

Your entry and exit will be shown on the display; saved travel details lets you review the information. - Phone-to-phone payments in lieu of cash or cheque for services of your doctor, handyman or the babysitter can be made.

Banks and issuers of credit cards could offer electronic coupons, bank promotions, advertisements (say, about special interest offers on certain deposit certificates), and rewards programs.

The primary value to you for using contactless credit card technology on your mobile phone is the ability to use a single, easy-to-use device for your transactions ? all done at faster speeds.

There are security issues to be resolved, but these are minor obstacles. Only the basic personal information are carried by the current versions of contactless credit cards, just enough for a transaction to be completed.

There is also the need to have a critical mass of contactless terminals. In the U.S., for instance, there are 400,000 units over 80,000 locations. This comprises only 1 percent of the whole merchant locations in the country. Korea has a much more widespread network.

These obstacles will have to be overcome to make this future of credit cards materialise. Contactless credit cards become useless if you cannot make transactions regardless of where you are.