MasterCard: 62% Open to Phone Mobile Payments

Written by Admin

Is your retail store ready to accept payments with mobile phones? If not, you should put a credit card terminal upgrade in your budget for this year or next. Customers will be wanting to pay with their phones beginning this summer.

According to new research from Mastercard, 62% of mobile phone users are open to using their phone as a digital wallet to make quick payments.

The big retailers are largely ready. When new phones come out this summer people with the right set up will be able to make payments with their phones using NFC “contactless” mobile payment technology at McDonald’s, Target, Home Depot, and the like. The small and medium sized businesses are the next wave to upgrade credit card terminals. For merchants, it is time to upgrade. New terminals feature better security and provide the ability to accept payments with a mobile phone.

According to a new consumer survey published by financial services giant MasterCard, 62 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers indicate they would be open to making purchases using their phones. Respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 are driving interest in m-commerce, with 63 percent indicating they would be at ease making mobile-enabled purchases, compared to 37 percent of respondents 37 and older–in addition, 65 percent of users between 18 and 34 say they feel more naked without their phones than without their wallets, compared to 34 percent of those 35 and up.

MasterCard notes that interest in mobile payments also differs across gender lines, with 51 percent of males stating they would be at ease making a purchase with their phone, compared to 40 percent of females. In addition, 49 percent of men and 45 percent of women said someone paying a bill with a mobile app instead of a credit card would impress them. At the same time, 50 percent of women feel more exposed without their mobile device than without their wallets, compared to 36 percent of men.