Or a phone wallet, which may be more acceptable to them.
I would see it as the phone showing a QR code which the payment terminal scans and then contacts the user's bank to authorize a transfer, the bank does the transfer, then the vendor sees that it's paid for. Things like Tesco Pay are almost there. Previously it would have been unheard of because of the 2-5day transfer timescale, but nowadays I can get notification from my bank that I've just spent money at Tesco before I've pulled the phone away from the reader.
The reverse could work: the payment terminal shows the QR code which the phone scans. Either way the phone has a link to the bank, a does the vendor, so it's all matched up in realtime.
I already have this. My phone emulates a NFC Visa debit card using an app.
This means i am not limited to using it at one specific supermarket chain, having to set up an account with banking details with them, install there app on my phone for just that one store etc...
This works on any POS terminal that accepts a Visa NFC card. This means pretty much every vendor in my country that takes cards (unless they have such an old POS terminal that only takes chip&pin cards, but i haven't seen one of those in a long time). These days some ATMs are supporting NFC too, so i means i can also withdraw cash using just my phone.
However i rarely use it and instead just use my actual Visa card. The reason being convenience. Here is the comparison of the process for paying 20€ at a cash register:
- Visa card: Take wallet out of pocket, Take card out of wallet, The cashier can already see i want to pay with card and pushes the button, I press the card on the POS terminal, Wait for beep beep, Leave
- Paying with phone: Take phone out of my pocket, Tell the cashier i want to pay with card, Unlock my phone, Open the menu and launch the banking app, Wait for app to load, Enter the unlock pin into the app, Press the NFC pay button, Place the phone on the POS terminal, Wait for beep beep, Leave