Brits trust banks to be mobile payment providers
VocaLink’s online survey of more than 10,000 people in the UK found that 60% have a smartphone, rising to 80% in the 16-24 age group. One in four smartphone users already use banking or financial apps, mostly for checking balances, accessing bank details and viewing transactions.
However, some 27% of respondents are now using their smartphones for mobile banking, and 20% are using them to make payments. Among younger consumers, the number of mobile payment users is even higher, with 41% of those age 16-24 already paying with their mobile devices.
The mobile payment market is fragmented in the UK, dominated by PayPal Mobile, used by 64% of respondents, followed by mobile banking apps, used by 40%. However, banks were seen as the most-trusted providers of mobile payments. Of those who said they were likely to use a mobile payment service, 81% said they were more likely to do so if it was offered by their bank. Furthermore, the new method would replace their use of debit cards (45%), credit cards (35%) and, notably, PayPal (28%).
“This robust consumer market research indicates that there is real appetite for mobile payments,” said report author Paul Stoddart, head of strategy and business development at VocaLink. “All the indicators point towards the time being right for a genuinely ubiquitous solution, based on the huge increases in smartphone adoption. There are significant commercial growth opportunities for early adopters – provided they can deliver a sufficiently ubiquitous and functional solution.”
And what if banks don’t step up to the mark? VocaLink’s survey found that supermarkets are banks’ biggest competition. Almost half (46%) of respondents said they would trust supermarkets as mobile payment providers, rising to 52% among smartphone users.
