All four major US carriers have joined with Google, Isis, the big card schemes and a subset of banks and payment processors to launch a 'Mobile Payments Committee', intended to smooth the way for the commercial application of new payment modes on the high street.
Operating under the umbrella of the Electronic Transactions Association, the industry-wide task force includes all four major mobile network operators and card schemes, Google and PayPal, banking representatives from Wells Fargo and Capital One, plus Intuit, First Data, Panasonic and Neustar.
The Committee is chaired by Jackie Moran, executive director of federal relations for Verizon.
"As a nascent industry, the mobile payments market is just beginning to realise its full potential as a robust enabler of global electronic commerce," says Moran. "The Mobile Payments Committee is designed to ensure that the early stages of mobile payments are handled in the best possible way."
Key issues to be tackled include business relationships and interoperability, merchant and consumer education, and lobbying of legislators and regulators.
Committee members will meet on a monthly basis, with the first meeting scheduled for late-August.