Among the primary barriers to paying via smartphone has been a concern that it is not secure.
Although mobile payments are becoming increasingly popular among smartphone and tablet users, they are still not increasing in use at the rate that many in the industry had predicted, despite its broad availability.
Among the main concerns that consumers have expressed is in the form of worries over its security.
That said, Zapp, a mobile payments provider, has now released a report that says that using smartphones to complete purchase transactions is actually safer than buying something over an e-commerce website. Within the report, the company explained that people using this type of service can better “…carry out secure transactions…” than would be possible if they were shopping at the typical online commerce website.
Zapp feels that mobile payments can allow a consumer to shop with the same security as they would with other transactions.
According to David Emsworth, a spokesperson for Zapp, the smartphone based payments ecosystem is undergoing an evolution that should make it possible for a consumer to use a mobile wallet with the same confidence in its safety and security as they would have when using any other transaction platform.
That said, Emsworth does admit that among the reasons that mobile wallets have not yet faced the types of usage popularity that would draw as much attention to them from hackers as has been created by credit cards. As there aren’t that many users, there aren’t as many criminals out there who are targeting the method.
Potential thieves aren’t yet spending the type of time and effort on cracking mobile wallet systems and platforms as they are on systems that have a considerably larger usage base. That said, as this type of transaction becomes increasingly mainstream, it is unavoidable that those thieves will start to place more of a focus on those smartphone based platforms.
Therefore, while Zapp may be right in saying that mobile payments are currently actually a safer method of shopping than submitting a credit card number into an e-commerce checkout system, it is unknown as to whether or not that will remain the case as consumers start to use these digital wallets on a larger scale.
Bank introduces the Rabo Wallet, which supports NFC-based mobile payments
Rabobank, a Dutch multinational bank, has launched a new application that will facilitate mobile payments. The app supports NFC technology and is currently available for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3. Named Rabo Wallet, the new app serves as the bank’s next step in engaging mobile consumers. With mobile payments growing more popular throughout the world, banks have begun to launch services that support these transactions in order to meet the needs of their customers.
Companies partner to make a new mobile payments platform possible
Rabobank has partnered with Giesecke & Devrient and Samsung in order to launch the new application. This partnership has made it possible for the companies to engage mobile consumers more effectively and will make use of services and technologies developed by both Giesecke & Devrient and Samsung. These services are expected to make Rabo Wallet a valuable tool for consumers that are interested in making payments with their mobile devices, balance their bank accounts, and store loyalty points that are offered by retailers.
Mobile wallet features are becoming more popular as consumers show greater interest in mobile payments
Mobile wallets are quite similar to their physical counterparts. These applications are designed to store financial information digitally, making it easier to access this information. These applications are widely used by those that wish to conduct mobile payments and several mobile wallets have been released in the past two years. There is a great deal of competition in the mobile payments space because of the number of wallet applications that are currently available, making it difficult for a singular platform to stand out among consumers.
Rabobank may help bring more security to the digital payments space
Mobile wallets have recently come under harsh criticism for their exposure to digital threats. Many platforms do not have the adequate security measures in place to stop hackers from stealing consumer financial information. Rabobank has extensive experience when it comes to security, however, which may ensure that Rabo Wallet is able to keep the information of its users safe from exploitation.
