8 trends in the mobile payments, commerce and banking market

[Carding Forum]

Last month, the international Mobile Ecosystem Forum released its annual report on the state of the mobile payments market, which surveyed 15,000 mobile users in 15 countries. The statistics in the report show that mobile banking and mobile commerce continue to grow. 69% of those surveyed performed some kind of banking operation from their mobile, and 66% made mobile payments.

The report says that mobile money is growing the fastest, in particular through the use of services such as Mpesa in Africa and Fundamo in India. At the same time, mobile payments directly at the point of sale still make up a small part of the mobile payments market. However, experts believe that with the launch of Samsung Pay and Android Pay, as well as the expansion of Apple Pay's geography, the situation should change.

And so, the main trends in the market for mobile payments, commerce and banking in the world, according to MEF:

1. Mobile payments at checkouts in stores, despite a small share today, will grow rapidly. 12% of surveyed users paid with their mobile phones at retail outlets in the past six months. 4% of them used phones with NFC for this, 7% paid using a merchant's mobile POS terminal (mPOS). Another 5% said they used loyalty programs on their mobile phones.
2. Consumers still don't know why they need a mobile wallet. The study revealed widespread misunderstanding and, to some extent, apathy towards mobile payment applications. 18% of respondents have not even heard of them, 15% do not see the point in this, and another 15% say they do not know anyone who would use such applications.
3. Social media is the future of commerce. Young people are increasingly using mobile devices for social media - 24% of surveyed owners of regular mobile phones and 15% of owners of smartphones use their social media page for mobile commerce.
4. Lack of consumer confidence threatens the progress of mobile payments. 34% of users cite security as their main concern: 11% “do not trust the security of mobile money,” 9% are afraid to provide personal information, 8% are confident that mobile payment systems are insecure, and 6% do not trust the merchant.
5. Users only treat merchant apps as new showcases. 56% of respondents prefer to make purchases from a mobile site, having previously selected a product in the application.
6. Real stores are experiencing new life. 58% of respondents say that they first find the product they are interested in from a mobile phone, and then buy it in a real store. 28% make mobile purchases while staying at a point of sale.
7. Banking: 69% of mobile users conduct some banking from their phones. Of these, 28% check balances, 18% transfer money between accounts, 16% send funds to someone, and 9% apply for a loan.
8. Users appreciate the convenience and ease of mobile shopping, in particular the authentication process. 32% of consumers say that using mobile money is “convenient” for them, showing how much they value speed and responsiveness when making a purchase. Most payment providers are aware of these user preferences and try to simplify the purchase confirmation process to a single step, such as fingerprint reading.