As the number of mobile transactions made worldwide gathers increasing pace, the analysis and harmonisation of mobile payment standards by regulators should take precedence, said Phil Davies, managing director of PSI-Pay.
Launched at financial services conference Sibos 2013 this week in Dubai, RBS and Capgemini’s World Payments Report 2013 predicts that global mobile transactions will reach almost 30 billion by 2014.
Davies argues that while this would be a great feat for payment innovation, the regulations that control the payment functions and use of handsets are needed to ensure that payments are safe and secure for the consumer.
He said: “There are a number of parties to consider when it comes to mobile payments, including several different handset providers, network providers and even the cloud providers used by the networks. Each of these organisations will have their own idea of a secure system, but without diligence, some could be leaving their customers exposed to the potential dangers of mobile transactions.
“The technology that manages mobile networks was not specifically designed to organise payments, and it’s currently easier to compromise a payment over a mobile phone than any other method. As such it’s vital for an external body like the FCA to bring in more stringent regulations to safeguard consumers from any threats,” continued Davies.
Davies concluded: “This is a very exciting time for payments innovation and consumers have more choice when it comes to making transactions than ever before. The predictions from this week’s report demonstrate that the rate of mobile transactions is increasing quickly and therefore it is more important than ever to make sure that there are universal standards established to protect both consumers and businesses.”
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