Imagine a world in which all you need before heading out the door to shop, grab a bite or catch a movie is your smartphone. That is right: no wallet, credit cards or cash required.

Mobile NFC may make sense for coffee chains and convenience stores. However, when it comes to higher-value items, retailers and shoppers need to look elsewhere.

While there is room for new technology to transform how brands can reach consumers, competing markets and inherent weaknesses within each offering could hinder mainstream adoption.

Near field communication has the potential to generate billions of dollars of incremental revenue from mobile marketing services alone, not even factoring in payments, which will be a watershed moment for mobile, according to Razorfish.

One in five smartphones will have near field communication capabilities by 2014, according to Juniper Research.

Sprint Nextel Corp. is teaming up with handset manufacturers and payment networks to launch a near field communication platform to compete with its rivals’ Isis joint venture.

With Amazon.com already a major player in mobile commerce via its mobile Web site and applications, the company is now rumored to be setting its sights on the increasingly competitive near field communication arena.

With Google, MasterCard and Citi reportedly teaming up to go head-to-head with the U.S. carriers’ Isis joint venture with Discover Card and Barclaycard, a war in the near field communication space is on the horizon.

ORLANDO, FL – Many merchants still have reservations about near field communication and mobile payments that must be addressed to convince them to make the necessary upgrades to their point-of-sale systems, according to a CTIA panelist.

ORLANDO, FL – As near field communication continues to gain momentum, merchants and marketers should realize that it enables more than just contactless payments – it can be used to inspire consumer loyalty, according to a panel at CTIA Wireless 2011.