Bloomberg today had a great scoop in this piece detailing how AT&T and Verizon Wireless are developing a contactless payment system that enables users to pay with their phones at brick-and-mortar retailers. This has long been a dream of network operators, of course, but no viable business models have emerged. The nation’s two largest carriers hope to address that, though, by replacing existing credit card companies to create a new spot in the value chain. I’m still not convinced users really want a “mobile wallet,” but at least the carriers have created a business model that could work.