The use of mobile payments in the “real world” still seems a long way off, but a newly formed group calling itself the Mobile Payments Committee hopes to make some real progress in the field. The group includes all four major US carriers — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, along with Google, ISIS, PayPal, Verifone and Intuit.

Electronic Transactions Association CEO Jason Oxman announced the formation of the group saying:

“There are a lot of different pathways to enable consumers to use mobile payments…the idea behind the committee is to get all the players around the table, ask everyone to take off their company hats and put on their industry hats, and talk about what issues need to be resolved.”

With all the industry players coming together, we hope they will figure out some broader solutions for mobile payments and answer some of the pressing questions — including how to make consumers feel comfortable about using their phone as money.

Venture Beat