Mobile users in Japan have been able to use their phones as a payment option since 1999, when the leading network operator NTT-DoCoMo introduced i-mode a wireless internet service for mobile phones which laid the groundwork for a mobile payment platform. Since then constant innovations and an eagerness to invest in new services has kept Japan way ahead of the rest of the technically advanced world in the area of mobile payments.

Turning the dream of mobile payments into a reality has been long underway here in Denmark, frustrated by strict regulations and limited flexibility from network operators. Yet it seems that the vision is finaly materializing and gaining momentum as I experienced at Skejby University Hospital earlier today.