Japanese telco NTT DoCoMo is to release a mobile phone that doubles as an ATM cash card.

The service will allow people to withdraw and deposit money at machines in convenience stores and supermarkets using thier phones instead of cash cards.

The scheme has been developed in partnership with IY Bank, a unit of retailer Ito-Yokado.

The high-speed i-Mode 504i handsets contain a chip on which account information can be stored and transferred through an infrared port.

IY Bank said that it aims to launch the service, tentatively named Mobile Cash Card, by the middle of next year.

DoCoMo began a service last summer in co-operation with Coca-Cola Japan that allows people to buy drinks at vending machines using their phones.

In Hong Kong a system that allows users to buy products using a chip in their mobile phone has had some success.