SmartDebit respond to research into consumer appetite for alternative mobile payments

Smartphones increasingly used for payments

The research, carried out by Accord on behalf of Vocalink, includes analysis across 5,000 consumers, merchants and businesses in the UK. Initial findings on UK consumer smartphone and tablet payment habits show that 33% of smartphone owners have used them to purchase items online and 42% have used them for online banking. A third (33%) of tablet owners have used them for online banking, and 43% have used it to shop online.

Security remains the priority for consumers when using alternative payment methods. This is closely followed by convenience and ease of use as further important factors.

“These figures demonstrate the opportunity to revolutionise the UK payments industry using portable devices to support the growing population of people who already transact digitally”. He continues, “For those interested in new payment services, 81% indicated they would be more likely to use them if they were provided by their bank – and of those, around half indicated they would be encouraged to transact more using their mobile device. Traditional institutions have a key role to play and should be at the forefront of payments innovation by delivering services based on consumer demand”.

Continually following the latest payment research and industry developments, a spokesperson from SmartDebit commented, “With increasing smartphone and tablet penetration, mobile payments are set to become the next revolutionary method in the payments industry. Smartphones have been around for quite some time now with various organisations entering the market with innovative services, yet not one product or method has emerged with widespread adoption.”

“Last year, the majority of smartphone manufacturers included a near field communication (NFC) chip in their devices to enable users to pay for goods and services, leading research to predict that global NFC mobile payment transactions will be almost USD50bn worldwide by 2014. However, this figure will rely on easing consumer’s fears over the security of this payment method and raising awareness.”

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