So far we've yet to see mobile payments really catch on with the public, despite the fact that there are several entities trying to become a hit. While it's not clear when (or if) one of those options will gain significant traction with consumers, a new group has been formed to at least educate the group members, regulators and regular people about mobile payments. The Mobile Payments Committee, announced earlier today by Electronics Transactions Association CEO Jason Oxman, is home to all four major U.S. carriers as well as the likes of Google, ISIS, PayPal, Verifone and Intuit. The head of the Mobile Payments Committee is Jackie Moran, who is Verizon's executive director of federal relations.

The Mobile Payments Committee has plans to help its members figure out form relationships to aid in mobile payment interoperability, work with regulators and legislators on how to form public policy related to mobile payments and teach both consumers and sellers about why they should adopt mobile payments. The first meeting of the new Mobile Payments Committee is expected to happen sometime later in August.

While it remains to be seen exactly what the Mobile Payments Committee will accomplish, it's definitely good to see AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon all agreeing to take part in the group along with companies like Google and Paypal. The idea of having a mobile wallet is an enticing one as smartphones grow in popularity, and although it's tough to say if there'll ever be a single service that most everyone can use, at least the Mobile Payments Committee can educate the public and legislators about mobile payments and possibly help to increase interest in it. What do you all make of mobile payments? Do you have any interest in making payments with your phone or would you rather stick to plastic cards?

Via The Verge, Venture Beat