Nacha (the US electronic payment clearing organisation) published a request for comment document with major implications for mobile payments. (Read here). This action in my view could be one of the biggest catalysts for proper mobile payments in the United States.If the door being openened by Nacha is embraced by a critical mass of financial insitutions, the US is poised to launch the first cost-effective interoperable mobile payment solution in the world. Nacha provides the rules and the infrastructure to enable electronic funds transfer from one bank account to another in a secure way. This, coupled with a very low cost structure and enough participation can trigger true mobile payment products, that are both open and flexible.
The RFC issued by Nacha recognise that payment transactions triggered from mobile devices should be identified as such and that different rules can be applied to these transactions. The question now is, if financial institutions see this will they embrace it?