Abstract:
ABSTRACT
Payments have been growing for hundreds of years and people have
established advanced and more efficient means to make payment. Financial
transactions that are based on wireless handsets may soon prove to be as pervasive
as Internet-based financial applications. This progress has brought about a major
shift in the current mix of consumer payments. Growth in this channel has been
aided by technology, reliable infrastructure, applications, enhanced customer
experience and traditional payment methods as well as new alternatives such as
PayPal. The term "Mobile Finance" encompasses a wide array of services and
products of interest to financial services institutions: Mobile Banking, Mobile
Payments/Fund Transfers and Mobile Commerce. The common element is that the
customer to initiate a financial transaction uses a handheld wireless device.
Therefore the use of the mobile phone is the next significant step in the evolution in
the payments industry.
However the future diffusion of mobile banking depends on the organizing
of markets and the interplay with regulations. Thus mobile banking requires
transparent and clear regulations, as the contracting parties do not necessarily know
each other. The legal regulations imposed by the lawmaker, thus, intend to safeguard
and balance both consumer- and business interests by setting rules and regulating the
market as well as the usage of existing and emerging technologies.
Therefore this paper we examine of the current success in mobile banking
and the legal and regulatory challenges that need to be met before financial
institutions can safely deploy mobile transactions on a wide scale to the interested
customers.
