CIBC and Rogers Communications Inc. launched mobile payments in Canada on Friday. Olympic gold medallist Simon Whitfield showcased the technology at a Tim Hortons outlet in downtown Toronto.

Only two models of Research In Motion smartphones can be used like credit cards to pay for everyday items up to $50, Rogers said. But there will be more BlackBerry smartphones as well as Android and Windows Phone 8 smartphones that will be able to make mobile payments, said David Robinson, vice-president of emerging business at Rogers.

Consumers will simply substitute their smartphones for their credit cards, Robinson said.

“People have embraced mp3 players on phones, video cameras on phones. My wallet is now in my phone. Weird now, but three years from now it will be normal,” he said.

“It’s going to be very merchant friendly, very consumer friendly,” he said.

Mobile payments can be made wherever Visa’s payWave, MasterCard’s PayPass and Interact Flash are accepted, Robinson said.

Smartphone use in Canada has also risen, with 44 per cent of Canadians surveyed owning a smartphone, up from 33 per cent in a similar poll conducted for CIBC in 2011.

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