Since 2004, NTT DoCoMo has been selling mobile phones, called mobile wallets(osaifu ketai, in Japanese), that function as credit cards. Although the individual applications on DoCoMo phones are not overwhelming(for example, one application lets you use a mobile phone to pay for a vending machine purchase in Japan), their combined capabilities generate a significant amount of business. Other countries that have a tradition of using cash for retail transactions have seen significant adoptions of mobile phone apps that allow them to be used to make payments. Very few people have credit cards in these countries and the convenience of using a mobile phone for payments has been very attractive In the United States, where the use of credit cards is widespread, the use of a mobile phone for payments has not been as compelling. However, in 2011, a number of companies began to offer retail store technologies that allow the use of smart phones