The Next Three Big Things in Mobile Payments

September 11, 2024 by

Mobile payments have, alternately, been both a blessing and a curse to a lot of users out there.

While there have been some great advances, there have also been some serious downsides, and many users out there are taking a wait-and-see approach to the whole concept.

The fervid predictions about mobile wallets replacing cash have so far not panned out, and the idea of the mobile phone replacing the credit card outright hasn’t come to pass either. But what’s developing in the mobile payments space bears watching, and there are three major new points to come in the field of mobile payments.

One of the biggest new trends, as expressed by Forbes’ Ilya Pozin, is that mobile payments will be part of a larger platform. More specifically, major brands are bringing out their own payment solutions and incorporating these directly into smartphones of that brand name.

Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay are the big three examples, and it’s likely that more such developments will arise. What’s stopping a Huawei Pay or an LG Pay from emerging? Not much, really, but this is a development that may do some damage to the umbrella offering of Android Pay.

Second, mobile is set to offer both a better deal and a better experience. We’re already seeing that in a lot of restaurant offerings, as everybody from Subway to Wienerschnitzel and beyond offers up an app that helps users find locations, send gift cards to friends and even pay for a meal.

Starbucks is making huge waves on this front, and it’s working out well for all concerned. Not only do the businesses get a better way to connect with customers—and get access to all that rich customer data—but the customer gets a more convenient way to order food and pay for it, with just the pickup left.

Even some places that aren’t directly connected to a business like Yoyo Wallet are stepping in on this front, delivering that convenience to places that aren’t major brands.

Finally, there’s a push on to use mobile payments to make transactions easier, and not just those between businesses and consumer. The transactions that take place in everyday circumstances, the quick “loan me a buck for the vending machine” or “here’s my share of the lunch check” transactions that would really make mobile payments a match for the traditional cash wallet. Square Cash, Venmo, and others have been seen in this space, and they will likely be joined by others soon.

Granted, the starry-eyed daydreams of leaving the wallet—and cash, and credit cards—behind in favor of mobile payments were probably a bit premature. However, I’ve seen plenty of times how mobile payment systems can deliver a greatly improved experience for users, and it may well come to pass, in another 10 years or so, that most of us will turn to mobile over anything else thanks to the sheer convenience of it all.

Throw in extra benefits like discounts and pre-orders, well, that’s a hard package to pass up. We can already place orders from Taco Bell and a variety of other places by remote with our mobile devices; how long until we never have to do it any other way again?

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