e-wallet

A misnomer for a portable personal profile that stores a user's shipping address, billing address, and credit card information in one secure place. The idea is to have only one "e-wallet," so that a user can make purchases across a variety of Web sites without having to reenter a bunch of information (see: sticky content).

It is interesting to note that when a technology or concept such as this emerges, the companies involved (and there are many) must adopt a standard to which they all will conform (otherwise, the technology may not gain acceptance). The emerging standard for this technology is ECML but overall, PayPal dominates the online payment industry.

The next-generation of a cashless mobile payment system is the 2G card equipped with a microprocessor allowing users to redeem their accumulated rewards points and potentially get their purchase for "free" anytime they swipe. It looks like an actual credit card but it's designed with buttons, lights, and digital read-outs. These high-tech features could have significant security benefits, with fraud protection built in to the plastic, but privacy advocates are concerned about the additional identity theft opportunities of carrying around so much digital information.