Flickr photo: shareskiHow much cash do you have in your wallet right now?

As I sat in the Grand Junction Colorado airport -- which is charming -- I had a conundrum: the contents of my wallet came to a grand total of 72 cents.* This is a common situation for me, a situation that means if I need a Diet Coke later (inevitable), I will likely also be forced to buy some chips or something so that I can put the charge on my ATM card. (Those chips clearly have nothing to do with my lack of will power.)

But I digress. My point is that real currency, the silver and green stuff we lug around, is about to get an upgrade.

In Pocket Change, author Dan Macasi points us to osaifu keitai, the Japanese phrase that means cell-phone wallet. The concept is simple. An NFC chip -- that's near-field communications -- is placed on your existing cell phone, or is built into new phones. When it's time to check out, you wave your phone over the payment center and the transaction information is passed through the chip to your bank. Done. 

Visa is testing it right now with Bank of America and Device Fidelity, which created a new iPhone case to house the chip. Here are a couple of ways to think about what this might mean:

Personally

• Be thrilled that you may be able to get a Diet Coke from that vending machine without fishing around for quarters.
• Maybe also be a little concerned about the potential rise in your Diet Coke consumption. Seriously. If you thought you spent money fast in iTunes, wait until you see how you burn through money you never have to see anymore.
• Another downside: when you lose you phone, you also lose your wallet. As your personal information consolidates, so too does the danger of identity theft. (This is why I actually want an NFC chip embedded in my wrist. Problem solved.)

For Nonprofits 

• Immediacy is something we bank on in the sector. It's the emotion or connection the donor feels RIGHT NOW that we want to capture. Imagine holding an event and being able to let anyone donate $5 with a swipe of their phone as they enter and exit.
• Online donations have made it easier to collect donations in the field, but this would take that to a new, and potentially much more efficient, extreme.
• The easier the transaction, the less tied that donor may feel to the organization. Can you move a $5 donor up the ladder of engagement? Will s/he even remember donating?

Paying by mobile is already a done deal in Japan and Europe. Analysts predict it will go big in the US in the next three to five years. Are you ready for it? And does anyone want to invest in one of these for the NTEN office?

* Also found in the money part of my wallet: 3 free song downloads from Starbucks, 2 bobby pins, a note from my daughter, a receipt for crayons, and some rewards coupons for my local garden center (expired, of course).