Whenever I'm out, I inevitably end up on the end of a tutting or eye-roll because I never carry cash.

I rely solely on my faithful friend, Switch. When I do have money in my wallet, it disappears quicker than a ball in a Paul Daniels cup trick. Switch helps prevent me wasting cash, and the optical illusion of paying for something while not actually handing over tangible money is worryingly reassuring. If I don't see it, it's fine.

The problem is: most places, particularly pubs, impose minimum limits to use cards, so I end up wasting money after all, inevitably on a packet of overpriced, fancy crisps to cover the remaining bill.

The aforementioned tutter often asks me: "what happens if you lose your card?" A conundrum, it's true, but if my whole wallet was stolen, I'd lose everything anyway. I'm inevitably between a rock-heavy wallet and a plastic place.

Beem me up

To solve the money mind-bender, Mobile Sense has launched Beem – a mobile money experience that allows users to send cash and pay for goods or services through the power of text.

Edging ever-closer to a cashless future, the service can be used by any mobile, on any network, with any bank. All you need to do is subscribe (via text), load up your Beem account (via text) and pay for a pizza or pint (via text).

Easy? In essence, yes. But not as easy as entering four digits on a chip and pin machine. And with pubs and bars being the primary targets for the service, imagine the scenario of trying to accurately text passwords and such like when it's you're fifth round that night.

Another advantage of Beem is being able to send money abroad or to banks instantly, without having to wait days for it to clear. Parents of backpackers, for example, can Beem their adventurous offspring an instant top-up to their travel funds.

Security concerns

Security is a concern, though, as you have to enter your password into every text message, so if your phone is stolen the thief can use your Beem account just as easily as you can. Beem recommends that sent messages be deleted, which adds to the work and risk involved.

I like the idea of a device I can fall back on should I ever lose my wallet, or something that means I don't have to walk like John Wayne with shrapnel-laden pocket.

It's not going to replace physical money, but it will provide an alternative payment method. At the moment it's limited to the number of merchants signed-up, but get Tesco on board, rather than a few student pizza places, and this could be something that snowballs.