Business owners and consumers alike have begun to embrace mobile payments. In 2011, $105.9 billion in payments were made on mobile phones or tablets. This skyrocketed to $171.5 billion in 2012, a 62 percent increase from the previous year. On the most recent Black Friday, 16.3 percent of all things sold were with a mobile phone or tablet. According to a study from financial technology provider Fiserv Inc., about eight million total households used their mobile devices to make at least one bill payment per month. Among smartphone owners, mobile bill payments increased 41 percent from 2011 to 2012. It’s projected that $1.3 trillion in payments will be made using these technologies by the year 2017.
So, why are mobile payments on the rise? Respondents offered several reasons as to why they preferred mobile devices to pay their bills. Half of the participants enjoyed the time saving opportunity presented by bill payment through mobile phones. The ability to access bill payments was cited by 44 percent. Almost the same percentage (43 percent) said the convenience of paying bills on the go was their primary reason for completing mobile bill payments.
Now, there are four kinds of mobile solutions that truly matter. With Carrier Billing, consumers pay by text message and the charge is added to their phone bill. When it comes to Near Field Communications, consumers pay at point of scale by waiving devices in front of a terminal. Consumers can also use Apps on their smartphone—this typically works by scanning a barcode at the register. Finally, merchants can take payments by plugging a Card Reader into a mobile device.
Have you ever used your smartphone to complete a mobile bill payment? If so, how long did it take you to complete the payment? Please discuss in the comments and check out the infographic below presented by Merchant Warehouse.
