MoBank app takes shopping to the iPhone in the UK

A similar service was launched by MasterCard and Blaze Mobile in March.

A big challenge for the sector is coming up with a unified way of supporting payments using a mobile device, according to Townend. Getting readers into stores will be easier, because it's not that expensive for retailers, he said.

"For me it is much better than using a card. I think the card's life span is narrowing, and eventually everyone will use the phone," said Townend.