British citizens are ready to cast aside their reservations and embrace the idea of using their mobile phones to pay for goods and services.
A new survey by MasterCard reveals that one in four British consumers expect to make a contactless payment with their smartphone in the next year.
The survey followed the UK launch of Apple Pay, a mobile payment service that uses NFC technology in the iPhone 6 to make a secure payment in shops. Consumers simply hold their iPhone near the contactless reader, with a finger on Touch ID.
MasterCard has said that it expects every payment terminal in the UK and Europe to accept contactless payments by 2020 at the latest. The payment giant is demanding that all new payment terminals rolled out from 2016 support contactless transactions via payment card or mobile device, TechRadar reported recently.
According to the MasterCard survey, the most common reservations over mobile payments relate to security issues. Seven in ten people worry that if they lost their phone someone could use it to buy things with their money, and over half fear that their phone could be hacked and money stolen.
Meanwhile, four in ten consumers said that they would rather wait for others to confirm that mobile contactless payments are safe before they try it themselves.
Huw Davies, head of Emerging Payments at MasterCard UK & Ireland, explained that mobile payments are extremely secure:
“Should a phone fall into the wrong hands, it’s of no use for making payments and customers can also be reassured that none of their card or banking details are stored on their device.”
So, are British consumers really ready to start using mobile payment?
With more than 250,000 locations across the UK now accepting Apple Pay, the industry will be watching closely.
It’s going to be a massive year in payments with Apple Pay having launched and Samsung Pay just around the corner, not to mention the many other ways in which consumers will be able to pay using their mobile devices and online. It’s a really exciting time to be involved in the rapidly evolving payments industry.” Kate Johnson, Partner
Tags: Mobile
