Tag: uk smartphone payments

VocaLink study sheds light on consumer interests in mobile payments

VocaLink, an international payments firm, has released a new study that aims to provide insight on what consumers want to see in the realm of mobile payments. The study focuses primarily on consumers in the United Kingdom and aims to shed light on their behavior and what they want to see emerge from the mobile commerce field. According to the study, many consumers are eager for banking and mobile payments services, but many of these consumers are already making use of these services in many parts of the country.

Study shows many smartphone owners are participating in mobile commerce

According to the study, approximately 60% of UK consumers own a smartphone and are making use of various mobile payments services. Adoption of mobile commerce is most prolific among the youngest generation of consumers, largely due to the fact that these consumers have grown up steeped in technology. Older consumers are interested in mobile payments as well, but have shown more interest in other convenient services that the mobile space has to offer, such as those found in the realm of banking.

UK mobile payments are mostly money transfers between friends and family

Mobile payments are becoming more common throughout the United Kingdom, but the study shows that many of these payments are not actually made to purchase products from companies. According to the survey, many mobile transactions are made between consumers and their friends or family members. The study shows that consumers are also using their mobile devices to pay for parking access, while approximately 3% of consumers are using their devices to purchase groceries and other products.

Banks could play vital role in growth of mobile commerce

The study suggests that the United Kingdom’s banks and other financial service firms hold a great deal of sway in the realm of mobile commerce. Not only do banks manage the various aspects of commerce throughout the country, they also have the ability to enable mobile payments services. The study shows that 60% of consumers that have participated in mobile commerce claim they would be more inclined to make mobile payments if such services were supported by their chosen banks.

The service is expected to launch near the beginning of 2014 through eight participating financial institutions.

The Payments Council has just released their latest news for smartphone users in the United Kingdom, which revealed that in the early part of 2014, they will have mobile payments services available that will allow them to send money or complete transactions via text message.

It is hoped that this will be able to rev up the smartphone transaction sector within that country.

According to the BBC, the entire process will begin as the eight banks that are involved in this mobile payments venture ask their clients whether or not they would be willing to opt into the program in 2014.

The goal is to use text messaging to make mobile payments more accessible and convenient to users.

The participating banks feel that using text message mobile payments will provide a simpler process than having to transfer money in the traditional way, as an account number will not need to be provided. Instead, a phone number will be used, which is much easier for the user to remember and is considered to be more manageable.

Though this is will be the first time that a service of this nature is launched in the United Kingdom, the technology is not brand new. M-Pesa is already offering text based mobile payments in a number of different African countries. This is because it is available in the majority of cell phone devices and it allows funds to be transferred quite quickly.

The Faster Payments service will be managing the mobile payments of this nature in the U.K. In 2012, that company processed 800 million banking transactions, which suggests that they will be capable of handling the necessary volume.

It is expected that the users who will find the text mobile payments to be the most appealing will be those who have feature phones as opposed to smartphones, and who are therefore not able to load wallet and mcommerce apps. Also predicted to enjoy this technology will be individuals who want to use their devices but without having to manage their account numbers in order to do so.