On Thursday morning the House Financial Services Subcommitee on Consumer Credit examined the growing trend of mobile payments (or "m-payments") that allow consumers to make purchases with their smartphones.
Panelists at the hearing included representatives from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, PCI Security Standards Council, MasterCard, the Smart Card Alliance and the Consumers Union.
During the proceeding, lawmakers touted the technological advances that make it possible for consumers to purchase items in stores using their mobile devices. However some expressed concern about possible glitches in payment safety and ways companies would be able to protect buyers against fraud.
Some marketers estimate that m-payments could reach as much as $170 billion by 2015.
The members will hear from financial service experts on the technology behind applications like "Google Wallet" and the "PayPal Here" credit card reader, and the potential security issues raised by m-payments.
Recently, Google suspended a prepaid card promotion for its "Google Wallet" when researchers found a way to hack into customers' financial information through their personal identification numbers.