Consumer Reports Finds Hidden Costs in Mobile Payment Services

Consumer Reports is out with a new investigative report on the disparities in loss liability and consumer protections in various digital wallet and bill-to-mobile schemes.

A consumer's right to get their money back when something goes wrong—errors, goods not delivered as promised, fraud— varies by the payment option used. Again, the underlying method of payment tied to your mobile device will govern their rights in such instances. Cell phone and digital wallet payment services linked to a credit card offer consumers the most protection. However, there is a large disparity in protection for services that link to prepaid debit cards and direct billing to consumers' phone bill.

In Consumer Reports survey cited in the report, "one in four Americans said they had an unauthorized charge, billing error, non-credited payment, or other problem in the last year when paying for purchases or paying bills" with non-cash instruments.