Apple Pay has been on the US market for a month now. At the time of its release, we here at Ensygnia were excited about the boost and buzz a large player like Apple could have on the market. One month in, and that has pretty much proved to be the case. All over the US mobile payments are on the up, and it's not just Apple themselves seeing all those gains. One study, conducted by Bizrate Insight, of online shoppers, reported that 40 per cent of US shoppers like the idea of using their mobile to shop.
Hayley A. Silver, Vice President of Bizrate Insights said:
“Convenience is a strong force for consumers—and a big un-met need. But whether or not Apple Pay becomes the standard for wallet-less payment systems still remains to be seen given that only 32 per cent of online buyers see this method as more secure than swiping their credit card at a store.”
It seems security is still what holds a lot of consumers back from making the leap to mobile payments. There a few peculiarities to this in my view. For a start, in the same study, only 76 per cent of participants stated they were satisfied with the level of security in current card based systems. And why should they be after the huge list of US companies that have suffered data breaches this year.
So mobile's competition on the security front doesn't seem to be that tough, and as we know here at Ensygnia, it is possible to build very secure mobile transaction platforms that vastly improve on security. Tokenization and encryption can allow for the much safer exchange of confidential information. Naturally though, it will take time for a large proportion of shoppers to trust and put their confidence in new technology - and we wouldn't expect anything different, payments are a serious business.
In the month since Apple Pay has been released though we have seen some concrete evidence of an increase in the use of mobile payments. The New York Times reported a number of encouraging figures. Grocery giants Whole Foods said it processed more than 150,000 Apple Pay transactions - impressive when you consider the still limited spread of Apple devices capable of taking advantage of Apple Pay. The nationwide drugstore, Walgreens, also reported a two-fold increase in mobile payments at its stores in the last month. Reportedly, other mobile payment companies are seeing stronger numbers in the last month too, including Google Wallet.
It's all music to the ears of those of us who are ready for mobile payments takeover. Are you?
By Matthew Taylor 20th November 2014
Related stories around the web
40 percent of U.S online shoppers say they want to use mobile payments - PYMNTS
Mobile transactions users to hit 2B by 2017@ report - Mobile World Live
Apple Pay gives glimpse of mainstream appeal for mobile payments - New York Times
Idea of Apple Pay growing on American shoppers - Multi Channel Merchant
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