News

Study: US consumers not so sure about mobile wallets

October 1, 2013

More than 64 percent of U.S. consumers say they would never use a mobile wallet, according to research by secure electronic transactions consultancy Consult Hyperion. But among those who would use the technology, banks were by far the most trusted provider.

The Consult Hyperion study asked participants who they would trust most to issue a mobile wallet. Choices offered were banks, phone companies, Google, major retailers, or no one because they would not use such a service.

The most trusted issuers were FIs at 20 percent. Google followed with 10 percent. Retailers such as Walmart and phone service providers rated only 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Slightly more than 64 percent said they would never use a mobile wallet.

Only a few study participants mentioned issuers other than those suggested. Proposed alternatives included credit unions, PayPal and Santa Claus.

Age made a difference in attitudes: The group most likely to use wallets was comprised of men aged 25–34, with an even split between prospective users and non-users.

Women aged 45–54 made up the group least likely users — 78 percent said they would never use a mobile wallet.

Banks were consistently the most favored issuer among all groups, except when broken down by salary. Respondents earning between $50,000 and $74,000 chose Google as their preferred issuer.

"The survey shows that issuers need to do a better job of conveying what mobile wallets are and what benefits they bring," said Consult Hyperion global ambassador Dave Birch.

"However it's interesting to see both that Google outranks both phone operators and major retailers as a trusted issuer, despite the obvious retail applications of wallets, and that banks retain the most trust for such a service."

The Consult Hyperion study was conducted via Google Consumer Surveys in September and included 1,015 participants in the U.S. who were asked to respond to the following: "A mobile wallet is an app that lets you pay online and in-store, provide ID, collect points/coupons, and store data with a phone. Who do you trust most to issue mobile wallets?"

Read more about mobile banking.