What's your wallet made of – leather, or bits and bytes?

At CUNA's recent Government Affairs Conference held in Washington that was a key question raised among those close to the evolution of payment transactions. While this is no aspersion on the ethics of politicians, it may be augury of a new financial future where traditional wallets and the cash inside them may become less common as the mobile phone preps to emerge as a primary payment tool at the point of sale.

That, expressed by some at the GAC, is the inevitable future of payments. Indeed, it is becoming a reality for PSCU, the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based provider of credit, debit, prepaid, online bill pay, mobile and online banking to more than 1,500 financial institutions.