The idea is to turn the phones into a kind of electronic wallet.

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Forbes mobile reporter Elizabeth Woyke reports that the device may in fact include the chip, which essentially turns the phone into an electronic wallet.

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They got funding to develop an electronic wallet and when they delivered the product, they began to get emails from people who were using part of their service as an eBay auction currency.

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On the technology side, cloud based services and electronic payment methods such as PayPal, Google Wallet and mobile payment enable these services to be consumed any time, any place.

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The "smart card, " packing an electronic chip, can store everything found in a wallet or purse, a hospital record, a family tree, a university transcript - indeed, much of the detail that points to who a person is.

CNN: ASIANOW - Asiaweek