At the moment, in terms of merchants and consumers, the company may be considered the leader.
PayPal, already a leader in the online transaction industry, is starting to be considered to be the frontrunner in mobile payments, as well, as it boasts the largest estimated number of merchants and consumers within a “digital wallet” sphere.
Furthermore, the company is aiming to expand this possible lead with the addition of new partnerships.
PayPal has just announced that it is partnering with Discover and NCR in order to further boost its mobile payments offerings. The eBay owned company has been a leader in online purchases for fifteen years, but were able to process more than $14 billion in transactions over tablets and smartphones last year.
The PayPal Here mobile payments service has allowed the company to define itself in this channel.
The success that PayPal has had over mobile payments has been considerable enough that they feel that they are starting to chip into the transaction processing sector, which has long been held by major credit card companies. This has also allowed consumers to start to be able to pay for their purchases in a seamless way, using their cards, but without having to actually carry the plastic.
The PayPal Here mobile payments card reader is also rapidly becoming popular among small businesses. This is because it allows those companies to use any smartphone or table to have a small card reader plugged into its audio jack without the need for large POS equipment or its associated rental or purchase fees.
Now that the Discover partnership has been added to PayPal’s growing set of deals, it will mean that the company will be expanding to 2 million more brand name locations by the end of this year.
That said, one of the mobile payments company’s primary goals is to eliminate the need for a card reader altogether so that the app can be used on consumer smartphones in order to replace the plastic cards. Though this service is available at a few thousand stores already, the extra two million will exponentially grow this opportunity.
Who will emerge as a leader in mobile payments is not clear
Mobile payments are beginning to disrupt traditional forms of commerce as more consumers begin to rely more heavily on the smartphones and tablets. These devices have made it exceedingly convenient for consumers to purchase products and services either online or in-store. As mobile payments become more prolific, the mobile commerce market is beginning to brim with competition. Several countries and companies have invested heavily in this market, but it is not entirely certain who will emerge as the dominant force within this industry.
Report shows that consumers are eager for new mobile commerce services
BI Intelligence, a market research and analysis firm, has released a new report that offers insight on mobile payments and those that are leading the way in the current market. According to the report, much of the mobile commerce world is driven by what consumers want. Consumer demand, for instance, has lead to the development of mobile payments platforms that can be used both online and at physical stores. Approximately 52% of consumers wanted such platforms, which are likely to become significantly more available in the coming years.
Singapore among the top countries ready to embrace mobile payments
The report suggests that companies like Square and PayPal are likely to thrive in the coming years, largely due to their very early adoption of mobile payments. Both Square and PayPal have a heavy focus on the mobile space, making them more attuned to the demands coming from consumers than their competitors. In terms of countries, Singapore is considered to have the most mobile commerce “readiness,” with the U.S. and the United Kingdom boasting of average readiness.
US and European consumers are not fully accepting of mobile commerce
While companies could see significant progress in the realm of mobile commerce in the coming years, consumers have yet to be fully won over by mobile payments. BI Intelligence notes that only 10% of consumers in the U.S. and Europe participate in mobile payments. Many are willing, but concerns regarding security are keeping most consumers tethered to traditional forms of commerce.
