4 out of 10 people believe Apple and Google will dominate mobile payments

According to new research, 39 per cent of banking and financial executives believe that Apple and Google will dominate mobile payments over the next five years.

The research from Cognizant, VocaLink and the Financial Services Club, titled ‘The Changing Face of Payments: A Review of Current Payments Infrastructures and Implications for the Future,  surveyed 300 banking and financial executives and found that mobile first has now gone mainstream, while innovative disruptive technologies such as block-chain will potentially become a very attractive alternative to traditional payment methods.

According to 90 per cent of responses, mobile devices will represent a mainstream option for person-to-person or person-to-business payments within the next five years.

Digital wallet features continue to be developed, a trend encapsulated by the launch of Apple Pay, which has made such offerings more accessible.

The executives surveyed predict the continued influence of such brands, with 39% of responses suggesting that Apple and Google will dominate mobile payments over the next five years.

The study also highlights that cryptocurrency and block-chain technologies are now seen as real drivers for change and are gaining mainstream recognition, particularly in back-office infrastructures. The emergence of digital-only lenders such as Atom Bank in the UK emphasises the conversion of previously marginal initiatives into the everyday.

However, the report has one caveat: that regulation and the use of cryptocurrency markets and Bitcoin will potentially be a major issue for payments regulators and participants in 2015, not least given how fast these new entrants have evolved from emerging technologies to real contenders in the payments industry.

“Innovation is crucial and traditional players need to adapt quickly, with agile and secure technologies to improve their business models and deliver better customer experience. The speed at which these innovative concepts have developed from ‘new kids on the block’ to major agents for change is extraordinary and the key to winning in the ‘Innovation Game’ is to be a part of it,” said Tony Virdi, Vice President of Cognizant’s Banking and Financial Services Practice for the UK and Ireland.

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