ECB Seeks Comments on M-Payments Security Proposal (Nov. 25, 2013)
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has drafted a set of recommendations to enhance mobile payments security, and the agency is seeking comment from industry participants and other interested parties on the proposed guidelines. The council’s draft document, released last week, includes the recommendations developed by the European Forum on the Security of Retail Payments, which was established in 2011 as a cooperative of regulators throughout the European Economic Area. The forum, which is tasked with increasing understanding of electronic payment security, previously issued reports on the security of Internet payments and payment account access.
The forum’s mobile payments report notes that the spread of mobile payments created new security risks, largely due to several factors: the current generation of mobile devices and operating systems were not designed with payment security in mind; the use of radio technology, such as NFC, for the transmission of payment data exposes mobile payments to increased risks compared to traditional payments; mobile payments include many new actors, such as telecom operators, who have less experience with payments and payment security; and the general public may be less aware of information security risks when paying via mobile devices compared to Internet payments from computers.
Interested parties wishing to comment on the draft report must do so by Jan. 31, 2014. Comments may be sent via email to [email protected], or by mail to: European Central Bank, Secretariat Division, Kaiserstrasse 29, D-60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
