It’s kind of bizarre to think one day we could all be walking around without a wallet.

No credit cards, cash, or debit cards in tow. Just our cell phone and a simple scan of the screen will be all that’s needed to make a purchase.

Crazy, right?

We are not that far away from it being a reality. In fact, we already use some of the methods behind a digital wallet today, we just don’t realize it because we still have our wallets with us when we make the purchase.

Using technology called near-field communication (NFC), chips installed inside of smartphones allow purchases to be made via the information stored on the chip.

When a NFC device is scanned it can transmit the information to another NFC device. For example, your iPhone has an NFC chip installed inside of it, and one feature of the phone is the Apple Passbook.

There you can store various credit and debit cards and even tickets and plane boarding passes. When you need to make a purchase you can simply scan your phone with the store’s NFC receiver as oppose to physically using your debit card.

From there a computer will debit your checking account, apply a refund, or charge your credit card.

The technology works the same way for tickets and boarding passes. It allows the user to be paperless while having all their items stored in one easy and convenient place.

The idea of a digital wallet works the same way. Instead of physically paying for cash or a debit card, people will now simply choose which method of payment they prefer and have their phone’s screen scanned by the NFC receiver.

And some retailers have already employed the idea. Google and Starbucks both allow customers to pay via their smartphone instead of using cash or debit cards.

Eventually it looks as though physical wallets might be gone all together, and using your smartphone to make purchases will be the new normal once more retailers begin to use NFC scanners in their stores.

Perhaps we will end up even being a cashless society. Wouldn’t that be strange?!