Blurred Lines

Mobile payments are taking off, and by 2017, consumers worldwide are likely to be using the technology to spend $700 billion or more annually, according to Forrester Research. But as technology companies look for ways to participate in that growth, they may find risks that they haven't anticipated.

"This is an evolving field, and there is currently no new mobile-specific regulatory framework addressing mobile payments," says Obrea Poindexter, a partner at Morrison & Foerster who leads the firm's Mobile Payments Group. Instead, mobile payments in the U.S. fall under a variety of regulators, such as the Treasury Department, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission, which can make compliance complicated. At the same time, the mobile payments infrastructure typically involves an ecosystem of partners, such as financial institutions, payment card networks, merchants, and technology companies. This web of partnerships can blur the lines