Users still aren’t exactly flocking to mobile wallets, and that’s probably because merchants aren’t that thrilled about them either.
According to a study conducted by Forrester Research together with JPMorgan Chase, only about 40% of consumers are likely to sign up and use digital wallet services.
This consumer sentiment is often attributed to merchant readiness—or lack thereof—to support the technology, as many merchants lack NFC (and sometimes, even chip) connectivity.
From the report, which can be viewed here:
Nearly a quarter of respondents to the consumer survey say they don’t believe the merchants they shop at frequently accept digital wallets. Thirty-two percent of consumers cite “more acceptance locations” among the top two things that would increase their use of mobile/ digital wallets the most. As digital wallets gain traction, the chances of seeing someone pay using this payment type will increase significantly. And with that, more consumers are likely to expect merchants to offer these payment options.
However, the study of 1,500 consumers and 804 merchants in the U.S. suggests that 59% of merchants surveyed indicated that they would be ready to support such services, citing plans to update their point-of-sale systems within the next year.
This demonstrates that the tech is catching on, albeit slowly, probably because both consumers and merchants alike don’t really seem to think the traditional payment methods are going anywhere anytime soon.
According to the survey, only 40% of consumers believe that cash will be gone in 20 years, and only 44% of merchants think so. Physical wallets are even more likely to stick around, with only 23% of consumers and 27% of merchants predicting the death of the wallet by 2037.
Keep trying, mobile wallets. All you need is one really strong use case.
To learn more about mobile wallets, join us in San Jose on March 6-7 for Bank Innovation 2017, where the best conversations in fintech take place. Click here to register.