As predicted, O2, together with London Transport, Barclaycard and Visa have launched a trial that will allow users to pay for items via their mobile phone, using digital cash. 

As part of the trial 500 O2 customers will be given a Nokia 6131 which will double as both a wallet and travel card.

This will be made possible by Near Field Communication, which is currently used in London’s Oyster cards.

Trialists will also be able to test a wide range of different services in London, such as making purchases of up to £10 in retail outlets situated in the City of London and Canary Wharf area.

There will also be ‘smart posters’ around the capital, containing tags that are enabled through the handset. Once tapped with the handset, the user will have access to a range of information relevant to that poster, or special offers on what is being advertised.

The trial will examine whether people are prepared to use their mobile phones as a secondary wallet, using the Barclaycard payment application in the O2 wallet.

As technology plays an increasingly larger role in our lives Cath Keers, O2 UK’s Customer Director believes the mobile phone is taking over as the one thing you cannot leave home without.

“Research shows that people are more likely to return home if they leave their phone behind than their wallet or keys,” Keers said.

“We believe that NFC technology is going to fundamentally change the way people use their mobile phones.”

During the trial, Barclaycard will meet the costs of payments made on a phone should it get lost or stolen. A helpline has also been set up for this purpose.

A similar system has already been used in Japan and Korea successfully, but has yet to take off elsewhere.

O2 were today keen to stress it was only a trial at this moment in time, but should it prove successful, a full-scale launch could happen in late 2008.

The amount of Londoners using Oyster to travel has already had an impact on travel, with the UK government reviewing the number of ticket offices it keeps staffed.