Do you wish you had a way to spend your money more easily, without all that opening-the-wallet or punching-the-pin-number manual labor? The trade publication Cards & Payments (registration required) says that it’s received a copy of a report filed with the FCC that indicates Citigroup is developing a Near Field Communication, or NFC, mobile phone that would allow its customers to make contactless payments at participating retailers.

Card & Payments writes, “The report, dated this month and drafted by a lab hired by U.S.-based mobile phone maker Mobicom Corp., clearly shows the Citi logo on the front of the tiny handset.” They say Citigroup tested a similar technology last year in partnership with AT&T, and that the report indicates the phone is for the U.S. market.
 
We can’t think of a single way this could be used to steal money from a Citibank account. Oh wait, yes we can.
 
“Citigroup Developing A Citi-Branded NFC Mobile Phone” [CardForum] (registration required)
(Photo elements: Getty and Mobicom)

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