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What’s Stopping Retailers From Bringing in Mobile Payments?

February 7, 2017         By: Steven Anderson

Mobile payments are a great idea for delivering convenient, secure payments systems to businesses and adding value in general, especially when coupon management or loyalty rewards systems come into play.

Yet one of the biggest problems associated with such a venture is that many retailers just aren’t accepting these payment systems, limiting their effectiveness and the overall reach therein. People won’t use systems that can’t be used where they shop, so what’s stopping the retailers from accepting these systems?

One major reason is that the biggest retailers are paying more attention to cutting costs rather than improving customer experience, so for them, mobile payments aren’t often a priority. A second reason is that, for retailers of all sizes, the process of augmenting hardware and software appropriately to take these systems can be both difficult and complex.

Finally, the user base isn’t quite up to snuff yet, and regular consumers need to get more involved before the retailers can justify pulling in all the new hardware. That’s going to take some more incentives targeting the individual consumer, probably in the form of loyalty programs and location-specific promotional events.

It’s a Catch-22 of sorts; retailers haven’t been adding the necessary equipment to make mobile payments possible because they don’t see customers particularly interested in it. Yet customers won’t be interested in a mobile payment system that can’t be used where they shop.

It might seem at the outset like mobile payments are a doomed market, with retailers unwilling to make the investment in purchasing new technologies to provide a service that customers won’t use because there’s no place to actually use the systems.

The first thing to bear in mind here is that mobile payments are still a comparatively young technology; there’s room yet for these systems to gain ground as more people find the value of convenience and secure payment options. The mobile payments tools involved are likewise improving, and with that improvement comes more reason to use the system.

A leap of faith, somewhat, is required on both sides. Customers need to use the systems in sufficient numbers that it’s worth making the change for businesses. Businesses, however, need to have the necessary facilities in place for users to actually use the systems, and break the Catch-22 effectively.