The way we pay for goods and services every day is constantly evolving.
One of the latest advances has seen online payment specialist PayPal announce a tie-up with high street clothes retailers Coast, Oasis, Warehouse and Karen Millen.
It will allow shoppers to use the PayPal app for Apple iOS and Android mobile phones in more than 230 stores across the UK, thanks to a unique barcode on screen. It can be scanned at the till with the money for goods coming direct from the user's PayPal account.
The technology even works without a mobile or Wi-Fi internet signal and can process refunds and discounts too. Security is managed via a pin number so no personal or financial information is stored on the phone itself. You can watch a video of how it works here.
According to Cameron McLean, Managing Director of PayPal UK, the launch marks another important milestone in mobile payment and wallet technology.
He said: "Today marks the start of a quiet revolution in the way we shop on the high street. We've created a simple, secure way to use a mobile phone to pay in your favourite stores. The lines between the online world and high street will soon disappear altogether: research we carried out last year amongst major retailers suggested that 2016 will be the year you won’t need a wallet to shop on the British high street. A phone will be enough."
Ish Patel, Group Omnichannel Director of the stores' owner Aurora Fashions, added: "Catering for payment flexibility is a now a crucial part of ensuring we are providing customers with a seamless experience by merging digital commerce with physical retailing."
But while the PayPal service is ultimately managed by an app, the future of mobile payments is still said to rest on so-called NFC or near-field communications. It sees a chip embedded within a smartphone allowing wireless financial transactions to take place simply by tapping the handset on a receiver or waving it nearby.
NFC is becoming more and more popular in America after being used commonly in Japan, but the technology is still in its infancy in Britain because the number of NFC phones is limited, while retailers are yet to install compatible sensors with their tills.
The launch of the new Samsung Galaxy SIII mobile this week, which includes NFC technology, is expected to give the payment method a boost. Apple's iPhone 5 is also expected to build in NFC when it launches later this year.
Last week Everything Everywhere - owners of Orange and T-Mobile - gave NFC a push when it partnered with transport firm Stagecoach to use contactless mobile technology for travel tickets.
Rather than paying for the journey with cash, the trial sees it used to receive, store and validate a bus ticket on a mobile phone.
Known as Quick Tap, it was developed by Barclaycard and Orange and works with the bus network's smartcard readers.
Gerry McQuade, Chief Marketing Officer at Everything Everywhere, said: "We’ve already started a new movement in the way we make payments and receive retail rewards on the high street, so this really is the next step - providing customers with additional simplicity and convenience to help improve their public transport experience."
NFC will also become more common from next week when the Post Office begins the roll out of contactless mobile payments throughout its UK branches.
Phones enabled with Vodafone and Visa's paywave or MasterCard PayPass will be able to pay for transactions. But alongside NFC, there are more and more services booming in the mobile payment space.
Barclays recently launched its PingIt app allowing money transfers between people through their mobile phone numbers and The Mobile Money Network - a joint enterprise between Monitise, The Carphone Warehouse Group and Charles Dunstone - has created an instant mobile checkout to use in adverts, stores and on social networks, plus it also has its own app called Simply Tap. Customers already include Thorntons, HMV and Goldsmiths.
Marketing Director Nick White said: "Visa Europe predicts that 50% of all its payments will be made via the mobile platform by 2020. A mobile phone is no longer just a communications device.
"Major players across the retail ecosystem are investing heavily in technology that revolutionises the way consumers behave from price comparison on the go to contact-less payments, mobile shopping and 'm-wallets'."
But he claims having so many players in the market could prove its downfall. He added: "The key will be to avoid an overly fragmented market – those players that bring together retailers, banks and media platforms will be the ones that prevail.
"Understanding the technology available and what it can do for you is the first step for retail brands and consumers alike. With mobile apps and websites being rapidly deployed, it is clear that retailers understand the potential in mobile – but there is so much more to this than one-off apps.
"Smart mobile technology will put more money in the till, attract more customers and defend a market position. Consumers want to buy easily on the move, they want to buy from social media recommendations, they expect to be able to buy whatever they want, wherever they are, really quickly. Mobile can allow that. Solving real consumer pain points will ensure mobile payments take off."
Another solution comes from ImpulsePay and is called Payforit. It works with online and mobile websites to enable small purchases to be charged directly to a phone in one click. It runs on the major UK networks.
Operations Director Paul Paterson said: "As NFC and similar technologies are beginning to revolutionise the retail payments sector, Payforit is changing the way we make small payments online. Every consumer can make a purchase regardless of which operator they are with.
"Adoption of the technology is growing, with both Virgin Trains and CrossCountry trains using it as a method of payment for their onboard Wi-Fi."
He added: "Clearly the mobile payment landscape is changing and growing rapidly and there isn't one solution that's going to fit every scenario. One thing is for certain, the idea of the mobile phone as a payment device is finally a reality."
