The Obama presidential campaign is again pushing the bounds of technology in politics by using Square mobile payments in its fundraising efforts. Square’s mobile payment device is a secure magnetic stripe credit card reader that can be attached to the headphone jack of iPhones, iPads, and Android devices to accept payments.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Google is preparing to start a mobile payment trial in New York and San Francisco. The system, which Google will be rolling out with VeriFone Systems Inc., will let users pay for purchases with their smartphones. The special registers would make use of near-field-communication (NFC) technology, which is still rare in mobile phones in the US.

The use of mobile phones as payment devices has yet to catch on in the US like it has in some Asian nations. But Bank of America is looking to change that. BofA will be running a trial starting in September in New York to have people pay for items using their smartphones. The project involves the use of special wireless chips (probably a type of near field communication) to allow their handset to interact with receivers at point of sale registers.

Users will be able to wave their phones over the receivers to pay for items. Visa and Mastercard, in an effort to catch the next train leaving the station, are heavily invested in the project. Visa is also looking to develop its own version of the technology. The use of mobile payments could simplify the small-dollar, high volume transactions people make on a daily basis. Buying a bagel might never be the same again.

The only problem, is the same thing that makes the system desirable: ease of use. If you lose your phone, the finder might know it's as good as a credit card. There is also a concern that thieves could find a way to wireless capture your banking data. Safeguards would have to be built in to the system, and consumers will have to adhere to good security practices. Would you like to pay for things with your phone, or is it too risky?