In a post called "Dispelling the myths about mobile banking and payments" on the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's "Portals and Rails" Web page, Cindy Merritt, assistant director of the Retail Payments Risk Forum, looks at some of the myths around mobile payment security. Merritt's conclusion may surprise some. According to her, mobile payments are just about the safest form of payment.

"Because mobile devices will use contactless technology in the form of an embedded computer chip, the mobile phone will be a much more secure payment device than the plastic cards we use today," Merritt writes.

According to Merritt, mobile payments are simply another form factor for payments, but one with built-in security features required simply to make them function.

"The security functionalities resident in the mobile handset provide authentication capabilities that don't exist in the current payments environment," she writes. "The ability to add passwords and GPS location functionality to the handset represent additional security controls to accessing payment instruments in the future mobile wallet.

"Today, there are no locks on your leather wallet to preclude a bad actor from stealing your credit and debit cards and using them for illicit activity."

Additionally, Merritt says regulations that protect consumers will continue to work even when consumers migrate to mobile payments.

"All the rule sets, laws and regulations, and consumer protections that govern retail payments today will simply migrate to the mobile channel," she writes.

The post from the Fed may serve as a tonic to those who see mobile payments as more threat than convenience to consumers. In a recent survey conducted by mobile payment provider Mobio, nearly three in four respondents cited security as their chief concern in using their phones as a payment method.