Report: 48% of U.S. consumers want mobile wallet
Forty-eight percent of U.S. consumers are now interested in using a mobile wallet, according to a new survey from Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group.
The survey, which drew 605 respondents, found that of these 48%, nearly 80% are interested in using PayPal’s mobile wallet service, while 60% would use a mobile wallet from Google or Apple. In most cases, respondents said they would consider using alternative players to their primary bank for mobile wallets and for banking.
According to CG, these prospective mobile wallet users fall into two categories:
-
Techno Shoppers (27%): Consumers attracted to shopping and social features of mobile wallets, and effectively using their cards to make the best possible payment decisions.
-
Payment Optimizers (21%): Consumers interested in making the best payment decisions based on their financial situation, loyalty benefits and account management.
“Within five years, half of today’s smart phone users will be using their phones and mobile wallets as their preferred method for payments,” said Peter Olynick, CG’s Card & Payments Practice Leader. “These customers will be using better tools to help them optimize transaction choices. Banks need to proactively consider how their products will stay ‘top of wallet’ in the new mobile wallet world.”
The survey also found that consumers place significant value on the benefits of various offers and incentives, from lower interest rates and cash back rewards to discounts and sales coordinated with loyalty programs. However, they are frustrated with the number of offers they receive and with their ability to track the terms and conditions for each of their cards:
-
Sixty-five percent of respondents rated the ability to make better payment choices, such as maximizing loyalty programs or minimizing interest payments, as the most valued mobile wallet service.
-
Eighty-two percent of Techno Shoppers responded that making shopping easier was very valuable and 62% believe that mobile wallets will make shopping more fun.
“Banks need to ease the pain points with their mobile wallet features to retain customers,” said Olynick. “We advise banks to update their core transaction processing capabilities today so they will be ready to provide improved transaction and shopping experiences in their mobile wallets tomorrow.”