MOBILE PAYMENTS REGULATIONS : A comparative study between regulatory frameworks for Mobile Payments

Abstract: The increasing growth of mobile devices penetration has provoked the rise of the mobile payments industry. With many years in the market and with a constant evolution in both its technology and transactions volume, numerous implementations have entered the market around the world. It has demonstrated potential and innovation for services offered, business models, and delivery schemas. All these positive aspects bring new challenges for the industry and in particular for regulators. Mobile payments are emerging in the intersection of financial regulation, telecommunications regulation, and other technological rules that make the picture complicated and challenging. That is why regulators’ role should be to develop fair rules to protect both customers and the market, but having the ability to create at the same time an environment able to encourage innovation, open competition, and new services. This master thesis presents a depiction of mobile payments from its concept, functioning, technologies, and current situation. Everything conducted to introduce, explain, and analyze the existing regulations covering mobile payments and how the creation of such regulatory frameworks have helped the industry to grow and develop. Finally, several cases from different geographical regions and diverse markets are analyzed in order to see their regulatory approach and specific frameworks. Everything intended to analyze the existing trends and differences around the world with regions and countries with different socioeconomic characteristics. As a result an analysis locates each case in a logic map which allows the reader to understand how enabling is the environment for the development of the industry in terms of their regulatory situation. Additionally, the trends and differences between the regions are identified and presented based on the finds of each study case.