Mobile money failing UK consumers and merchants
By Retail Technology | Wednesday October 2 2013
New research finds just 10% of smartphone users have made an instore mobile payment while even fewer merchants can accept mobile payments
Newly released research indicates that mobile money is not living up to the hype and failing to deliver for consumers and merchants alike.
The ZNAP consumer survey of 1,500 UK adults found that, despite the plethora of mobile wallets and well over half of the UK population owning the smartphones needed to use these wallets, less than 10% of smartphone owners have used their devices to make a point-of-sale (PoS) payment in a store.
In terms of merchants, very few are set up to accept mobile payments. ZNAP, the mobile business platform from MPayMe, examined merchants on Oxford Street, Europe’s busiest shopping district, and found that only 7.5% are able to accept mobile payments.
Making mobile a wider-reaching consumer experience
Hooman Mazaheri, European chief executive of MPayMe, commented: “With one or two notable exceptions, the biggest retailers and merchants in the UK are slow in adopting this new technology. It’s a similar picture for consumers too.”
He said the products currently being offered often have too many limitations and do not offer the value or the utility to drive merchant and consumer adoption. “When there are already well-established and traditional ways to pay, i.e. cash and cards, what’s the benefit of introducing a rival if it doesn’t come with added value?” he added.
Mazaheri concluded: “What’s needed is a solution that addresses the real and diverse needs of merchants and consumers. Yet another method of payment isn’t enough unless it comes with add-ons such as data and loyalty scheme management for merchants, and a relevant, versatile and wider-reaching customer experience for consumers.”
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