Venmo is finding success among a younger generation
Venmo, a payments firm based in New York, may become the flagship mobile commerce facilitator among millenials. Younger generations are finding physical currency to be bothersome, opting instead to use digital currency and store their financial information online. The massive popularity of mobile technology has begun causing a major shift in the commerce world, and millenials choosing to forsake physical money are at the heart of this shift. Firms like Venmo may stand to benefit from this trend.
Younger generations often cause a shift in technology and society and mobile commerce is coming out on top
This is not the first time that a younger generation of people have caused a major shift in society. Traditional telephone land lines are no longer popular thanks to the growth of smartphones, which received strong support from young consumers. Young people are also abandoning traditional television services, opting instead to get the majority of their entertainment online in some form. Mobile commerce has managed to find a great deal of success in various sectors, and young consumers have helped secure this success.
Venmo processed $314 million during the first quarter of 2014
Venmo has processed some $314 million in mobile payments during the first quarter of this year, a 62% increase in the payments it processed in the prior quarter. The Venmo application has become quite popular with younger consumers, with many of these people using the app to send money to their friends and pay for products online. One thing that sets Venmo apart from its competitors in the mobile commerce field is that there are no fees associated with transferring money through the mobile application.
Some mobile payments firms are finding more success than others
Venmo is not the only mobile payments firm that has found success by engaging younger consumers. There is no singular platform that these consumers favor, however, and they frequently jump from one mobile payments service to the next. This fickle nature has made it difficult for some firms to find lasting success in their competitive market.
FTC report finds that many mobile applications are falling short
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has released a new report focused on the mobile commerce space. According to the report, mobile commerce applications lack the mechanisms necessary to resolve payment disputes coming from those that use them. These application may also be unable to adequately protect their user’s privacy. These are issues that have often been points of criticism in the mobile shopping realm, but relatively little has been done to resolve the problems associated with these issues.
Report shows that apps are not providing consumers with the information that they need
The report from the Federal Trade Commission outlines significant shortcomings in the disclosures that applications offered to consumers regarding rights and certain liability limitations. Many of these applications were very ambiguous in detailing what consumer information is accessed and how this information is being used. These apps also lacked effective anti-fraud mechanisms, which may be putting consumer financial information at risk.
Apps are playing a larger role in the digital shopping experience
Mobile applications are beginning to play a more central role in the shopping experience. Consumers are beginning to use apps to find and purchase products that they are interested in, but some of these apps are unable to provide an effective service to these people. In some cases, these applications fail completely in processing a payment, leaving payment information in a state of limbo and frustrating consumers.
Mobile commerce is beginning to see more regulatory attention in the U.S. and other parts of the world
As mobile commerce continues to grow more popular, it will fall under more aggressive regulatory scrutiny. The mobile payments space is still in a state of infancy and, as such, may not have appropriate measures in place to protect consumers and their financial information. Services that do not offer adequate protection or properly inform consumers about payment dispute resolutions and information collection may find it difficult to find long lasting success. With competition in the mobile commerce market as aggressive as it is currently, few platforms can afford to alienate consumers.
