This brings regulations for smartphone based transactions into the country, making the tech usable.
Dilma Rousseff, the President of Brazil, has now given approval to a brand new law that brings regulations to the mobile payments sector into the country in order to guide the businesses and consumers who wish to take part in this type of transaction.
This new law has formed an identity within the country that will make the transactions possible.
The law, which is number 12,865, has created a new form of legal identity, now known as a “payments institution”. This entity will receive its regulation from the Brazilian Central Bank. It will meant that consumers in Brazil will be able to take advantage of mobile payments and banking services from banks, financial institutions, and merchants.
These mobile payments will be targeted particularly toward consumers in the lower income brackets.
The original intentions of the government were outlined in plans for the regulation over mobile payments as a whole in Brazil, back in May of this year. That original introduction came in the form of a bill that required common standards for this type of transaction that would be maintained throughout the country. It also stated that these services must be interoperable among the various smartphone based transaction programs in the country.
More recently, in September, the Chamber of Deputies and the Brazilian Senate both gave their approval to the mobile payments bill. From that stage, it was moved onward to the desk of the president in order to make it possible for it to be passed into a law.
Now that the president has, indeed, approved the law, it is up to the Brazilian Central Bank to be able to come up with the rules for mobile payments operators to follow in order to offer this type of transaction. The Brazilian Central Bank has 180 days as of the signing of the law by the president in order to create those regulations to be followed by that sector of the industry. The near future will be very defining to the ability of Brazilians to be able to pay using their smartphones.
Brazil sees strong growth in the realm of mobile payments
Mobile payments have been picking up steam in Brazil. The Brazilian government has been taking steps toward making mobile payments more commonplace and has been introducing measures that may help regulate the mobile commerce field. Brazil’s Ministry of Communications has been noting the sharp rise in use of mobile devices over the past year. According to the agency, mobile technology penetration throughout the country is powering the growing popularity of mobile payments.
Government moves to regulate mobile commerce
The Ministry of Communication expects that more than 130 million mobile devices will be used to make mobile payments in the next two years. There are currently 260 million of these devices in operation throughout the country. The Brazilian government has begun showing strong interest in supporting the growth of mobile wallets, which can be used by consumers to store and use financial information with their smartphones and tablets. These wallets exist as applications that can be installed on a mobile device and have proven quite popular within the mobile commerce space.
Central Bank to develop regulatory roadmap for mobile payments
While mobile payments are on the rise in Brazil, the country still lacks a comprehensive regulatory structure to govern this growing sector. The Brazilian Central Bank has 180 days to develop a regulatory roadmap that will manage the emerging mobile commerce field and address the various security concerns that exist therein. Bank officials have noted that one of their top priorities is to ensure that mobile payments are universally accepted, allowing all consumers the ability to participate in mobile commerce if they so choose.
Security considered a top priority
Security is also considered a top priority, from a regulatory standpoint. Mobile commerce has long been plagued with security concerns that have slowed its adoption. Because mobile commerce involves the use of financial information through a mobile device, it is often considered insecure by nature. Indeed, mobile devices are quickly becoming ideal targets for hackers due to the financial information they are beginning to store and how this information is being used to initiate mobile payments.
