The idea of mobile payments and all the benefits they bring to users [never having to remember where your wallet is, being able to check your account balance with little effort, being able to leave the house with only one thing in your pocket] should make people ache to get their operator, credit card provider, and country, to hurry up the installation of new infrastructure, but what if people actually didn’t want to switch from what they have now? That’s what the Institut français d’opinion publique (IFOP) said after asking 1,025 consumers of various ages if they were for or against the idea of using their mobile phone to replace their wallet. Only 8% of respondents said they were highly keen on the technology, while 33% said it sounds like a good plan. On the opposite side you’ve got 19% of people who strongly think mobile payments are a horrible idea and an even larger 40% who said they just didn’t like the sound of it. So you’ve got to ask yourself … why?
Of the 41% who actually want mobile payments, simplicity (82%) dominated their list of reasons for hurrying up adoption. That was followed by speed (51%), and security (17%). Of the 59% who didn’t want mobile payments, their list of reasons for being opposed to the technology is practically the exact opposite: security (79%), cost (29%), and complexity (21%) are their main concerns. These findings prove that like any new technology introduced to the market, people are resistant to change. I’m pretty sure that once near field communication (NFC) enabled mobile phones start becoming mainstream, and it looks like it’ll happen during the next 36 months, many people will change their minds. Then again I’m always shocked when I go to Germany and have to use good old fashioned hard currency for every transaction while here in Finland we pay for everything, even a stick of gum, with a plastic card.