Specter of Apple Looms Over Verizon, AT&T's Cell Phone Credit Cards Game

We've seen a number of contactless credit card enterprises hitting the news recently, backed by big names and with slightly different notions about how the technology works. But the news that AT&T and Verizon are forming a joint venture to compete in this space totally transforms the market from a slightly boring, and long-term one, to a dynamic and exciting one.

Bloomberg notes that the efforts include T-Mobile USA and will be piloted in stores in Atlanta and three other U.S. cities and...