Wallet may become obsolete in the US in four years: PayPal

NEW YORK: The good old wallet may become obsolete in the US within four years with people increasingly going for digital money, an e-payments company has claimed.

"We believe that by 2015 digital currency will be accepted everywhere in the US -- from your local corner store to Walmart. We will no longer need to carry a wallet," Scott Thompson, the President of California-based PayPal, said.

"Consumers are increasingly giving up traditional payment methods", including cash, cheques and even debit cards, said Thompson whose company profits from customers switching from hard money to payments online and over mobiles.

Thompson made the comments in a blog post to mark what the US company claimed was its 100 millionth subscriber, ' The Daily Telegraph' online reported.

The company has launched a publicity campaign in which five people in San Francisco will attempt to pay for all their purchases with digital currency, despite the fact many shops still do not accept it.

PayPal has said it expects to process US dollars three billion worth of payments over cell phones this year.