3 Reasons Mobile Payments may not be ready

1. Retailers - Adoption by retailers is obviously key to the success of mobile payments. The companies behind Isis found that retailers didn't want to work with smaller companies (like Discover). A major card company is needed to give them confidence in mobile payments. At the moment it is too risky for retailers to install the requisite technology, especially if they are footing the bill.
2. Mobile Carriers - At the moment network providers are pairing up with card companies. This could cause problems for universal adoption if only certain pairings of network and card companies are useable.
3. Card Companies themselves - Card companies need to simplify the process to make it easier for customers, retailers and networks to adopt. Visa and Mastercard are so dominant in the payments market that a lot depends on them. At the moment their dominance is a barrier to new payment networks.