Payments made by means of mobile phones

This article analyses some of the risks associated with payment by means of mobile phones. In the very near future, the rapidly expanding technological possibilities will give widespread scope for paying for groceries and for many other goods and services simply by sending messages from mobile phones. In many cases, a payment service provider will facilitate the transfer of money and the status of this third party intermediary will cause some specific problems in respect to who shall bear the risks if the payer or the payment service provider becomes insolvent. These problems must be dealt with when designing payment services. The payment service providers will probably take on strict liability for executing payment instructions, and in some cases they will bear the risk of payers' insolvencies.