Visa Inc. hopes to prove to banks that a contactless payment chip in amobile phone is a much more compelling product to consumers than the same chip in a plastic card.

Though contactless payment cards and terminals are increasingly common, they are not most peoples' primary method of payment; some people even carry the cards around in their wallets, unaware that they feature near-field communication chips and need not be swiped to initiate transactions.

Though adding the same NFC chips to phones offers much of the same benefits as NFC cards, doing so can also open the door to additional control over users' accounts, according to Bill Gajda, Visa's head of global mobile products. This control could convince consumers to use a contactless payment in situations where many still use cash and checks, he said.