Adoption of mobile payments lower than expected 

The survey of 4,000 smartphone users in the United States and Canada revealed that only 10 per cent of Canadians are using their smartphones to make payments at least once weekly as compared to 19 per cent of Americans. What’s interesting, however, is that 40 per cent of Canadian consumers are aware they can use their mobile device to make payments, but are hesitant to migrate to this payment method. 

“Canadian consumers are becoming increasingly aware that they can make payments through their phones, but haven’t yet put away their cash and cards,” said Jonathan Magder, Canadian Payments lead at Accenture. “Canadians already tap and pay for purchases today with the very same terminals that can also be used for mobile payments with our phones. This is a clear indicator to banks and retailers that although the digital transformation in payments is progressing, there is still a long way to go before we reach broad market adoption.”

Clearly, we’re a long way from a full-scale adoption of this method of payment. So what’s contributing to this low rate of adoption? Not surprisingly security is still a major concern to consumers, while others are looking for better incentives and rewards. Over 75 per cent of consumers who are currently using their smartphones to make mobile payments said they would increase their usage if it offered discount pricing or coupons, while 73 per cent cited reward points as another motivating factor.

The survey also looked at which mobile payment ecosystem is at the top of the users list and found that Apple Pay is gaining momentum as the leader in the U.S. With its much anticipated introduction in Canada coming down the pipeline, 11 per cent of Canadian users said they would use Apple Pay at least once weekly.

Source: Accenture