Industry Update: Advances in Mobile Payments
While mobile payments are steadily increasing in prevalence and usage, only about 10% of customers regularly use them. This means tech companies are trying to come up with new ways to make usage easier or more appealing for the other 90% of customers not using, so that mobile payments can become more of a major player in the industry.
Although 10% is a substantial portion of the market for such a new payment option, it is nowhere near what it could be, assuming most people would prefer the ease that comes with this form of payment. Tech firms are trying to innovate and discover new solutions that would draw people in and compel them to adopt mobile payments. To do this, they would have to target those who wouldn’t normally use a payment like this, and hone in on more practicality and functionality.
The newest developing technology within mobile payments is the use of biometrics. Users can scan parts of their body (like irises, fingerprints, thumb prints, etc) to access their information or account and pay easily. This provides an added layer of security, and gives an option that requires less clicks to process. Paying with Siri is also a method the industry is looking to explore more, as there seems to be a growing need for it with the popularity of Siri and all the things you can access easily by speaking into it. Credit card companies also want to get it on the action so they will likely develop some new type of advancement, like a reward program, to keep up. This is beneficial for those who aren’t already using mobile payments, and may be good for those who are, making the process even easier for them.
Companies are discovering that if they want to get more users, they need to start offering more incentives along with ease of use. New features will entice customers to use mobile payments instead of cash, card, or other forms. Rewards programs are already largely popular, and can figure into mobile payment usage. Other options are mobile order-ahead, special pickup-only lines, or ‘usual order’ features where your order is stored or remembered and easily applied for you. Many of these features have been used in more ‘manual’ ways, where a customer would have to call ahead or input something into a system. But with the advancements of mobile payments, this can be easily integrated into its technology for automatic use.
Advances like these will soon become the norm in an industry looking to be innovative and expand. The mobile payment market is just beginning, and we are interested to see the bigger advancements that are surely coming.