Soon enough consumers will be able to pay by simply swiping a phone over a reader that electronically communicates with a microchip in the phone. The last time we heard of something similar, Cingular Wireless, Citybank, Mastercard and Nokia were forming a partnership in order to provide consumers with a mobile phone that could be used as a credit card.

While no information on that project has reached the surface so far, Visa has similar plans that also include world's top handset producer Nokia. Visa and Nokia have announced a global system that will turn mobile phones into wallets for millions of consumers. After many years of trials world-wide the platform will enable contact-free payments, remote payments, person-to-person payments, as well as mobile coupons.

Also, according to Visa's announcement at the Consumer Electonics Show in Las Vegas, users will also be able to manage their accounts and funds with the help of their mobile phones. The wireless standard the mobile phones will use will be the near field communication (NFC) chip, which will reportedly be hidden under the phone's cover and make contact when swiped over a reader.

The NFC technology has been used for a while now in public transport access cards and was developed by former Philips chip unit NXP. The purpose of the implementation of this technology is to provide users with an easier way to pay as well as manage their account, allowing them to confirm a purchase with the push of a button.

The initial version of the payment platform for mobile phones was launched on Monday and offers contactless mobile payment, personalizing over mobile telephony networks, coupons and direct marketing. Later this year the platform will also include remote payment and person-to-person payment.