Contactless mobile payments will not provide a significant new platform for malware.
This is according to the Mobile Data Association (MDA), which stated that it would be "very difficult" to translate "conventional viral models" to mobile networks.
"It's somewhat more difficult to put out a virus that will work across all devices," Mike Hawkes, chairman of the MDA, explained.
"There are a lot of potential targets there, [but] there are controls - obviously the transaction limit and top-up limit are nods in that direction."
Mobile network operators also take a proactive approach to protecting their customers, he said. This suggests that rogue near-field readers used to transact contactless mobile payments are "probably more of a concern at this stage than the malware".
Last month, Google confirmed that it will enter the contactless mobile payments arena this summer with its Google Wallet app, which will allow users to pay for transactions via their mobile phone.
Posted by Andre Dixon