There's a new way to pay using your smartphone that could be coming to the United States possibly by late spring.

MasterCard and Visa are both terrified of major cell phone operators offering payment systems to their users. They're terrified of Apple and Google doing the same thing too.

So MasterCard is quietly developing what's called MasterPass. It is a combination of a digital wallet and a speedy checkout option at a traditional store. They're launching this in Europe over the next couple of weeks.

The idea is you will be able to essentially embed your MasterCard account in your smartphone. When you go to buy something online using your phone, you won't have to enter account numbers or anything like that. You'll just be able to activate MasterPass on your phone and bam! You're done.

On the other hand, let's say you're in a retail store. Today, at most Starbucks you can use an app that pops your picture up at the register and you pay electronically using your smartphone. MasterPass will have a similar capability that can be used anywhere that accepts MasterCard.

There are obvious security issues for you. This will all mean you can't just leave your cell phone laying around, more than you could in the past.

In Japan, it's become so routine that they pay with their phones, instead of with cash or plastic, that this is almost certainly coming in the United States.