Motorola and MasterCard today announced a trial for PayPass, a wireless and cashless transaction system. The new “contactless” payment system works using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology. PayPass is similar to FeliCa, NTT DoCoMo’s payment technology.

To make a purchase, a phone with PayPass needs only to get close (within a few inches) to a receiver. Motorola sees this helping in contactless ticketing for mass transit or events. Besides replacing credit cards, the technolgy could also replace keys and ID cards.

Motorola phones enabled with MasterCard PayPass technology are expected to be trialed by the end of this year in a variety of locations in the US.