Mobile Payments Up Across the Board, Asia Gains, U.K. Still Leads

A new Mobile Payment Index has been released by global payment company, Adyen.

According to the index, which tracked data from July to September 2014, 23.3 percent of online payments were made using mobile devices.

This number is up from 21.5 percent in the previous quarter. Driving the increase was a big spike in Asia, where mobile devices accounted for 17 percent of payments, up 58 percent. The U.K. and Europe possess the highest percentage of mobile payments, at 41 percent and 24 percent respectively.

North America held at 16.7 percent and Latin America reported a paltry 6 percent.

The rise in payments made from mobile devices highlights the need for businesses to monitor their payment strategies. Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial officer of Adyen suggested that “the future belongs to businesses that will continue to adapt to local mobile payment preferences and streamline the checkout flow.”

The index also noted that, while more mobile payments are made on smartphones (57 percent) than tablets (43 percent), the average transaction value (ATV) for tablets is much higher. Shoppers also tend to buy more physical goods than digital goods from their tablets and desktops.

Twenty percent of all digital purchases, however, are made on smartphones. The data suggest that shoppers prefer the larger screen of a tablet or desktop to view their purchases of physical goods.

Pascal Burg, Director at the Edgar, Dunn & Company strategy consultancy, said, “the Mobile Payment Index confirms recent survey results that show that omni-channel payments and mobile payments will be two of the top three challenges for merchants in 2015. Optimizing payments in this fast growing mobile channel requires more than “copy-pasting” desktop-related best practices. It requires a dedicated, forward thinking mobile payment strategy.”