New mobile phones to replace credit cards

MOBILE phones could soon replace credit cards for shopping payments, following the launch of a range of hi-tech handsets.

South Korea’s three telecom giants, major credit card companies, and several banks have been testing technology, that will enable users to pay for everything from groceries to petrol with a mobile.

“We are conditioned to think that a credit card is a plastic rectangle,” said Cho Eun-sang, a senior manager at Harex Infotech, one of the first companies to develop the technology.