Mobile Payment Use Is Rising While Enthusiasm Is Declining
More U.S. consumers made mobile payments for purchases in the last year compared to 2012, but their enthusiasm appears to be declining, according to a Harris Interactive survey. Harris found that smartphone users were more likely this year than in 2012 to have either personally completed or witnessed firsthand at least one type of mobile transaction. Forty-three percent of smartphone owners had their credit or debit card swiped via an attachment on a mobile device this year, up from 32 percent a year ago, and 23 percent paid for a product this year by tapping their mobile device against an in-store receiver, compared with just 17 percent in 2012. However, just 37 percent of respondents said they want to continue making mobile payments, down from 44 percent in 2012. A key reason was a lack of compelling motivation to switch from cash or traditional card transactions, the study found. The ability to use a smartphone as a digital wallet experienced a similar drop, even though digital wallets contain electronic versions of the identifications, loyalty program cards, and other documentation typically carried in a physical wallet.
From “Is Mobile Payment Interest Waning?”
Business News Daily (11/18/13) Brooks, Chad