Accenture: Mobile Payments Usage Remains Low in North America despite Growing Awareness

October 21, 2015 by

In spite of growing mobile payments awareness in North America, only 18 percent of North American consumers use their mobile phones to make at least one payment per week, says a new report by global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company Accenture.

According to the report, the “2015 North America Consumer Digital Payments Survey,” 52 percent of North Americans are aware of mobile payments, up about 10 percentage points since 2014. Actual mobile payment usage, however, remained flat growing just 1 percent.

Robert Flynn, managing director for Accenture Payment Services in North America, commented, “Though it’s clear that consumers are aware that they can make payments through their phones, continued use of existing payment methods – such as credit cards and cash – and slow retail adoption of modern card readers have caused usage levels to remain stagnant over the last year. 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.”

The survey of 4,000 smartphone users in Canada and the US also found that Millennials (people between 18 and 34 years old) and high-income consumers (those with at least $150,000 household income) are the early adopters driving usage of mobile payments.

Twenty-three percent of Millennials make mobile payments at a merchant location at least once a week, while 38 percent of high-income consumers make mobile payments at merchant locations at least once a week.

The report also cited various ways to boost mobile-payment adoption rates, such as giving consumers better security, rewards and incentives.

Apple Pay, which was just launched a year ago, is used for 68 percent of all mobile payments in US stores, said the report, which also found continued consumer interest in connected commerce and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments.

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