Interest mounting in burgeoning mobile payments market

Mobile payments have evolved over the past few years, and are beginning to enter a period of tumultuous action in the U.S. as more financial institutions, credit card providers and merchants begin exploring the mcommerce market.

Making mobile payments work in the U.S. could be challenging, however, as a recent CNET report explains there are numerous parties with a vested interest in exploring mobile payment technology and taking advantage of the market's U.S. potential.

According to the report, plenty of profits are available in the mobile payment market, but each sector has a different perspective on how it is going to earn these profits. This creates a challenging dynamic for progression that could hamper mobile payments growth.

Banks are one of the groups that has the potential to grab a share of the mobile payment profits. The report said banks that are able to extend their credit lines to those using near field communications and other mobile payment technologies will be able to profit from the technology. Credit cards are taking an even more critical role in the mobile payment marketplace, as they risk losing their credit card business if they are unable to make mcommerce applications stick. If consumers turn to mobile payments instead of using credit cards, but use applications provided by other sources, credit card companies could be at serious risk, according to the report.

Terminal makers also have a lot to gain from mobile payment growth, the report said, because they will be able to sell new point-of-sale devices that are equipped with NFC and other technologies that are able to handle mobile payments.

Device manufacturers, telecom providers and ecommerce companies all have a place in the future mobile payment markets since their current roles will need to expand to support the various technologies and services needed to make mobile payments work, the report said.

With so many constituents in the market, plenty of issues in terms of interoperability, cooperation and infrastructural advances need to be dealt with before mobile payments will be able to stick in U.S. markets, according to the report.

Mobile payments got a major boost in the U.S. earlier this month when AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile announced they would bring the Isis mobile payments solution to Utah. The program will pilot in Salt Lake City, where the companies hope to evaluate the market and evaluate how to expand to other parts of the country.