Tag: mobile payment apps

Privacy a growing concern in mobile payments field

| April 24, 2013

Mobile Payments privacyPersonal data and how it is collected to cause problems for mobile payments

Data is extremely valuable in the mobile world. There are many kinds of data that can be considered valuable, from sales figures to marketing engagement, but the most important data in the mobile space is a consumer’s personal information. Typically, this information is considered private in the physical world, but is available in abundance online. Mobile payments, marketing, games, and a vast multitude of other mobile-centric activities collect this personal information for one purpose or another. Privacy is quickly becoming one of the most significant issues facing mobile consumers today.

Survey highlights consumer attitude concerning privacy

MEF, a global trade association, has released a new report entitled “Global Privacy Survey 2013.” The report highlights the attitude that consumers have regarding privacy and how their personal information may be being used in the mobile space. Data has helped the mobile world becomes more defined, providing developers with ways to create new, more intuitive mobile applications. Usually, these applications can either be purchased or attained for free, but a growing number of applications, especially those involving mobile payments, are beginning to exchange services for the acquisition of personal information.

Most consumers want to know how their data is being used

According to the survey, only 37% of consumers feel comfortable with sharing personal data with a mobile application. The majority of consumers consider knowing what kind of information an application is collecting to be important and 71% of consumers want to know how their information is being used. It is common for personal information to be sold to advertisers so that more targeted marketing campaigns can be fashioned. Mobile applications are not expressly required to inform consumers that their personal data is being collected in many countries around the world.

Mobile payments may not thrive if privacy is not addressed

Privacy is a major concern where mobile payments are concerned. Mobile commerce involves the trafficking of a consumer’s financial information, which, if stolen, can be exploited and cause significant monetary damage to a consumer. Mobile payments are becoming very popular among consumers, but if mobile commerce applications cannot become more secure, they may not have a future with consumers.

Mobile wallets losing favor in the world of mobile payments

| April 20, 2013

wallet mobile payments declineMobile payments sector seeing a decline in wallet applications

Mobile commerce is quickly becoming a major trend among consumers around the world. Many people consider mobile payments to be a simpler, more convenient way to pay for goods and services, partly due to the fact that mobile technology is so prolific. Much of mobile commerce has been powered through the use of mobile wallets, lightweight mobile applications meant to store and use financial information. While mobile commerce has been seeing strong growth over the past two years, these mobile wallets have not been growing more popular among consumers.

Wallets had been popular, but focus on NFC drives consumers away

In the advent of mobile payments, mobile wallets had been considered a necessary platform for mobile commerce as they provided much of the needed infrastructure for this form of commerce to work. Many of these applications are based on NFC technology, which allows for digital information to be transmitted over short distances. The problem, however, is that NFC technology is not universally supported throughout the mobile space. Indeed, the technology has been losing support from many of the companies and organizations that have emerged as strong players in the field of mobile payments, such as PayPal.

Consumers, as well as device makers, are favoring options free from NFC

Mobile wallets are beginning to give way to other applications that take a more accommodating approach to mobile payments. These applications seek to enable a wider range of consumers to participate in mobile commerce, which had, in the past, been largely restricted to those with NFC-enabled devices. These devices are still rare despite the efforts of companies invested in mobile commerce to see their expansion. A growing number of device manufacturers are beginning to abandon NFC technology, favoring mobile commerce platforms that offer some alternative.

Wallets may still be valid in mobile payments if an alternative to NFC is found

As device makers, like Apple, begin to move away from NFC technology, mobile wallets may be due for some change. These applications still receive significant support from Google and Isis, but the NFC-capabilities of these platforms make them unaccommodating to the growing interests of consumers. If organizations focused on mobile commerce want to retain the foothold they have established in this still emerging sector, they may soon have to consider finding an alternative to NFC technology.