According a new report from Javelin Strategy, financial institutions are facing a new competitor on the banking landscape: wireless carriers that are jumping on the mobile person-to-person, or P2P, payments business.
In an interview with Digital Transactions, Javelin founder and president James Van Dyke says the advent of smart phones has opened new doors for wireless carriers, and FIs are facing new challenges in their struggles to compete:
 | We see evidence today that telcos are going into mobile payments, one way or another. They're not waiting for the banks. |  |
The report, initiated in 2007 and based on surveys of more than 2,000 consumers, says the decentralized nature of the U.S. banking industry could give the more-concentrated telco industry an edge as the use of mobile technology in the United States and the world continues to grow exponentially:
| The percentage of the U.S. consumer population with a smart phone has nearly doubled in the past year, from 9 percent to 17 percent, Javelin estimates. Meanwhile, according to Javelin consumer surveys, 13 percent of U.S. consumers said in a September 2008 poll that they were 'likely' or 'very likely' to use mobile P2P services, up from 9 percent in 2007. Javelin estimates that 26 million Americans currently are willing to give mobile P2P payments a try. | |
