Tag: Bank of America

American mobile payments are ready to go mainstream

According to Bank of America research, consumers are increasingly prepared to adopt this technology.

If Bank of America is correct, American mobile payments will be commonplace very soon. Their research suggests that consumers in the United States are increasingly ready to use this technology.

Mobile wallets are nothing new in the United States but they have yet to take off among most people.

Bank of America conducted a survey to gauge consumer opinions regarding American mobile payments. What they found was 40 percent of respondents were actively seeking out mobile wallets or already had them. This is a sizeable increase over last year’s figure. In 2015, only 34 percent of respondents felt the same way.

Clearly, there was a sharp increase in the number of actively interested Americans. This interest level is considered to be an important indicator of willingness to adopt the technology. That said, the respondents didn’t stop at simply looking into mobile payments technology.

The American mobile payments interest could move forward rapidly starting very soon.

American Mobile Payments - Bank of America Center in Austin TexasThe research determined that 57 percent of Americans would be willing to try or are already using a bank peer to peer (P2P) money transfer app.Also, 62 percent are already using mobile as their main banking method or would be willing to try it.

The active mobile app user numbers also climbed. Forty eight percent of respondents were using mobile banking apps in 2015. This year, that figure increased to 54 percent. Furthermore, Millennial interest in these mobile banking tools is very evident. That generation represents a growing proportion of shoppers as a whole. This makes their opinions on such matters highly significant.

Millennials use their smartphones more than any previous generation. In fact, 39 percent say they would prefer to interact with their mobile phones than anything or anyone else. This included their significant other! American mobile payment have the potential to become very important to this generation. Moreover, since they are one that is about to become the most important group of consumers, this information is important. After all, no matter what previous generations think, it is the Millennial opinion that will soon hold the most weight.

Banks are beginning to take mobile payments seriously

Several large banks are working to serve mobile consumers better

Major banks in the United States are beginning to take the fight to the mobile payments space after resting on their laurels for several years. Banks had been wary of introducing innovative services and platforms in the past due to the financial crisis of 2008. Now, however, banks are finding that the mobile commerce space has the potential to be quite disruptive. While the mobile commerce space is intrinsically connected to these banks, they want to ensure they can compete on a level that the mobile commerce space has been able to corner, and that involves engaging consumers more effectively.

Banks are beginning to make use of the clearXchange system

For years, mobile commerce companies have made it possible for consumers to send and receive money almost instantaneously. Peer-to-peer payment services have become very popular among young consumers, many of whom rely very heavily on their smartphones. Banks see this as an opportunity, and many have begun to use the clearXchange system, which allows for instant money transfers to friends and families. Customers with U.S. Bancorp and Bank of America can now send money instantly thanks to the new system. JPMorgan and Capital One Financial plan to begin using the system later this year.

PayPal highlights the success companies can find in the mobile commerce space

American banks and mobile paymentsThe reason the mobile commerce space has become more important to banks is because consumers are becoming more mobile-centric. In the early days of mobile commerce, PayPal managed to find significant success and growth by engaging mobile consumers. In 2013, PayPal acquired mobile payments firm Braintree, which had control of the Venmo mobile application. Last year, Venmo processed more than $7.5 billion in money transfers between consumers. In January of this year, some $1 billion in money transfers had been handled by Venmo.

Banks want to find the same success that PayPal has seen over the past few years

The success PayPal saw through its early acquisitions is something that banks want to mimic, especially as more consumers become involved in the mobile commerce space. These banks will have an uphill battle, however, as many consumers have already become comfortable with the mobile payments services they are currently using.