Mobile payment: A journey through existing procedures and standardization initiatives

It is predicted that mobile applications will become an integral part of our lives at the personal and professional level. Mobile payment (MP) is a promising and exciting domain that has been rapidly developing recently, and although it can still be considered in its infancy, great hope is put on it. If MP efforts succeed, they will boost both e- and m-commerce and may be the killer service in 2.5 G and beyond future ambient intelligence infrastructures. This article introduces the mobile payment arena and describes some of the most important mobile payment procedures and consortia that are relevant to the development of mobile payment services. The aim of this work is to introduce the reader to mobile payments, present current concepts and the motivation behind it, and provide an overview of past and current efforts as well as standardization initiatives that guide this rapidly evolving domain.