The security of users’ data on competing mobile money services has come under fire over the past week. First security firm Zvelo found the PIN that is part of the security for the Google Wallet can be cracked through a numerical search. A few days later there were more problems for the search giant as it was revealed how pre-paid credit could be stolen off a handset running Google Wallet (the company has since said it has fixed this problem and that it was not aware of any actual abuse having taken place).

Most recently a Visa executive criticised rival PayPal’s mobile payment scheme for its security. PayPal is currently trialling a service with US retailer Home Depot that enables customers to make payments by using their mobile number and an additional PIN. “I think there's real issues around security," said Jim McCarthy, Visa’s global head of product, in reference to PayPal’s proposed service, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. McCarthy suggested “someone could gain access to a customer’s personal information when using PayPal to make a purchase in a physical retailer”, according to the report. He was speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference in San Francisco. PayPal responded that its service is safe for users.

Concern over user security is familiar terrain of course. We highlighted the issue a few months ago. A survey conducted on behalf of Gemalto found a worryingly high proportion of users in the UK worried about a lack of security software for payment services. Mobile Money Live’s own reader poll came to a similar conclusion that mobile money has to overcome such concerns before breaking the mass market.

And those conclusions were before the industry started to criticise itself. It’s starting to feel like a game of musical chairs where rival mobile money providers hope they will find themselves sitting comfortably at the end of the game. A good position is one where a provider has the trust of mobile subscribers or rather they retain more trust than their rivals. And that’s the problem. The risk is that the current process will continue and security firms, mobile handset experts and rivals will deconstruct every mobile money service one by one. The industry risks turning off potential users to all services not just those which might have security flaws that need fixing. It needs to move the debate onto new grounds. Otherwise all the leading players in the nascent mobile money market will find an uncomfortable landing on the same floor.

The editorial views expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and will not necessarily reflect the views of the GSMA, its Members or Associate Members.