Tired of remembering tedious payment deadlines, having to fumble through stack after stack of never ending bills? Or perhaps storing flimsy receipts in an over-stuffed tri-fold wallet? If this is the case, then the M-Wallet may be just the solution for those of you living life in the ‘fast lane.’

Newly introduced in the United States, the M-Wallet, short for mobile-wallet, could possibly be one of the most convenient technologies to come about this year. Unfortunately, it won’t wash the dishes or feed the dog, but it has the potential to alleviate a lot stress and save precious time when all the monthly bills start piling up.

The device stores financial information on one’s mobile phone using a special chip, which allows users to simply ‘swipe’ their phone over a merchant scanner, thus making purchases faster, easier and more convenient. One can also use their phone to directly pay for bills, transfer money and make purchases virtually anywhere, anytime.

Not only does this eliminate the need to carry debit and credit cards, but this also enables the user to keep track of all completed transactions, since receipts are sent directly the to mobile phone. Additionally, companies can market goods and services directly to one’s phone through channels such as coupons, gift cards and special promotions. Users can either choose to accept or opt or opt out of receiving these special offers, thus allowing the user to filter spam.

The device is protected by using a special PIN number, which is different from the phone’s password. After a given amount of inactivity, the program will automatically log-off, thus shutting down the application and safeguarding all of the user’s financial information.

Motorola was the first company to christen this novel technology in the United States in 2006. According to Motorola’s Vice President of Applications Management, Navin Mehta, “Mobile phones are no longer just about conducting conversations. They are now emerging as a center of people’s lives for everyday transactions.”

Motorola plans to launch the emerging technology using their Global Applications Management Architecture (GAMA) service delivery, which can “more proactively manage and extend the merchant value chain which provides operators with the rich retail ecosystem necessary for delivering and promoting new applications.” In addition, the Motorola’s M-Wallet network “works with GSM, CDMA, or iDEN technologies and is compatible with Symbian, Pocket PC, Palm, JSME, Brew and SimTk.”

Although the M-Wallet is a relatively new arrival to the U.S., the Japanese have been using their “osaifu keitai,” which literally means mobile phone wallet, since 2004. Since its induction, subscribers have used it for a variety of functions, such as purchasing plane tickets and train passes. This year, there are over 20 million people in Japan who have phones with this capability. Out of this number, over 1.5 million are using their phones to function as a credit card.

Even though the M-Wallet has yet to be fully introduced in stores across the nation, it could ultimately make life much simpler and efficient. In a world where life is increasingly moving at a faster pace and time is of the premium, this nifty little device could ultimately become your best friend.