Despite the fact that people residing in Canada are slow to accept the tech, banks are still diving in.
In Canada, the major banks are working hard to implement the technology that is required to allow consumers to be able to adopt mobile payments, but at the same time, less than a quarter of the adults in the country can actually use it.
A recent whitepaper has stated that the largest six banks in the country are pouring their efforts into a small market.
The banks are highly enthusiastic about creating mobile payments apps and services that will allow people to use their smartphones instead of debit and credit cards when they make a purchase in a store. That said, the whitepaper pointed out that only under 25 percent of consumers in Canada actually have all of the requirements that are needed to actually use that technology.
This implies that Canadian banks are moving ahead with mobile payments much more quickly than consumers can actually keep up.
Financial institutions in the country consider mobile wallets that will be used for smaller purchases – particularly when it comes to those developed through the use of NFC technology – to be a key component of their development over coming years. They believe that this will be integral to being able to satisfy what they think is a powerful consumer demand. They also feel that it is vital to take on a technologically-forward position, said the whitepaper, which was created in conjunction with the big six banks in Canada.
Some of the large banks view the creation of their own mobile wallet app as a vital component in defending themselves against the intrusion of technology giants such as Google and Apple, which are already moving into this space as financial players. They are hoping to be able to establish themselves as the natural choice for consumers, early on, before the technology giants have the opportunity to sink their claws into this marketplace and draw consumers away from the banks.
So far, services such Google Wallet and Apple Pay have been launching in a slowly growing number of countries, with the iOS version being seen as the primary threat. Apple’s mobile payments platform has already launched in the United States and it has just stepped into the United Kingdom. Many feel that it will make its way into Canada before the end of the year.
PayPal has revealed that over the last three years, the growth in the use of this technology has exploded.
According to the latest Secure Insight report from PayPal, smartphones are becoming an extremely important part of the overall shopping experience, as mobile payments are being greatly embraced by Australians.
This has reached the extent that in three years, they have grown by a factor of 5000 percent.
PayPal explained that this mobile payments growth rose from a base of $37 million. Beyond Australia, the wider online retail market experienced an 11 percent growth to bring its own figure to $36.8 billion. When compared to retail transactions, overall, this is significant, as the total figure had been estimated at only 2 to 3 percent.
This demonstrates that mobile payments are rising far more quickly than transactions as a whole.
Jeff Clementz, the managing director for PayPal Australia, has explained that the last three years that the company has experienced in retail in the country had been focused on expanding e-commerce. However, he has said that the next phase is now underway and it will concentrate on solutions for the point of sale.
He explained that “Technology development has driven deep structural change in Australian retail.” Clementz also went on to add that “Where once there were few retailers that could truly be called omni-channel, today there are many connecting with consumers in-store, online and on the go.”
The focus that PayPal has now taken is to change the way that the cash register experience works for both retailers and consumers. This aligns with its recent announcement of its PayPal Beacon mobile payments service. Within it, consumers are provided with a hands-free experience. It allows customers to head into a brick and mortar shop, choose their products, and then pay for them at the checkout counter without ever taking their wallets or their devices out of their pockets or purses.
The hope is that these mobile payments will provide a much faster, smoother, and more convenient transaction to enhance shopping, overall, and simplify the purchasing experience to a point that has never before been achieved.
