Wireless World: 'Card-less' loyalty promos

Isn't it frustrating when you go to the corner drug store, buy some milk and bread, and at checkout have to fumble when the girl asks you if you have your store discount card? Experts tell United Press International's Wireless World that one, small, everyday humiliation will soon disappear from your existence here, as wireless technology renovates retail processes.
So-called card-less loyalty programs are emerging that enable consumers to pay for their purchases with their mobile phones, and receive automatic updates on their account status, including extra savings, or planned promotions, via secure messaging service (SMS). No more cards to find in your cavernous wallet, or cash to pull out of your pocket. Just present your phone, and the credit card, linked to the phone account, is billed automatically by the merchant.
"Merchants can take advantage of cost-effective, high-impact interactive card-less loyalty programs, and let customers pay with their mobile phones, speeding check-out, and cutting costs by offering flexible payment options," a spokesman for MobileLime, a mobile marketing service, based in Watertown, Mass., told Wireless World. By Gene Koprowski

.