Tag: europe mobile payments

Survey shows that retailers are becoming more interested in new payment technologies and services

Retailers in Europe and the Middle East are planning to invest in new payment technologies in the coming years, according to a survey from ACI Worldwide and Ovum. Many retailers are beginning to see a trend among consumers that involves the use of mobile devices to shop for and purchase products. As this trend become more powerful, retailers are beginning to feel the pressure to engage mobile consumers more effectively or risk being left behind by these consumers.

Retailers in Europe and the Middle East have plans to embrace mobile payments within the next 24 months

According to the survey, more than two thirds of European and Middle Eastern retailers have plans to invest in mobile payments technology within the next 18 to 24 months. These retailers are citing real-time clearing and settlement capabilities and the growing popularity of loyalty programs as the reasons behind these investments. QR codes, in particular, have shown great appeal to retailers that want to engage consumers in an effective manner, as these codes have become quite powerful mobile payments tools.

Security concerns are slowing the adoption of mobile payments in the retail industry

The survey suggests that unfounded security fears have slowed the adoption of mobile payments among retailers. Many companies are concerned with their ability to keep consumers information secure when using a mobile payments platform. Notably, however, a relatively small number of retailers have fallen prey to cyber attacks focused on the mobile sector. The survey suggests that retailers are more comfortable with relying on older, less secure payment platforms that have proven to have security issues in the past.

Retailers believe that consumers want more payment options

The survey shows that 93% of retailers believe that consumers want more options when it comes to paying for products. As such, mobile payments are becoming a more prominent focus for many companies. One of the challenges of embracing mobile payments, however, is the relatively high investment needed to purchase mobile point-of-sale systems and other mobile-centric platforms.

It is clear that the adoption of this type of smartphone based transaction still has a long way to go.

A recently released study has now revealed that it is Europe that currently holds the top spot for the adoption of mobile payments, while at the same time, North America appears to be lagging behind the rest of the world in this same category.

This study was conducted during the period up to the point in which Apple Pay was launched in the U.S.

This study was conducted by a payment technology company based in Amsterdam called Ayden. The report on the research was included in its Q3 Mobile Payments Index. The data that was considered within this report runs up to the point at which Apple Pay rolled out in the United States. This could mean that from that point forward, the situation may change if it does turn out that the estimated 10 million Americans who have devices compatible with that service decide to actually use it.

Some believe that the awareness of mobile payments, alone, will start to improve its use in North America.

According to the report, mobile devices made up 23.3 percent of all of the online payments that were completed within the three month span that finished on September 30. This represents a growth in the worldwide use of these transactions of a sizeable 21.4 percent when compared to the quarter beforehand, which closed at the end of June. Among all of the various regions that were considered within this report, Europe was at the very top of the adoption of this technology.

Smartphone payments in Europe made up 24 percent of all of the mobile based transactions in the world. Asia came in second by contributing 17 percent of those transactions. That said, it was Asia that was seen as the most rapidly growing in terms of adoption and use of these digital payments. Its year over year growth rate was recorded to be 58 percent, said the report.

North America was at the other end of the scale. It sat at 16.7 percent of the total mobile payments around the world, and remained pretty much unchanged in that figure when compared to the previous quarter.