Tentative assessment of mobile payment to date

SVP and Managing Director of ACI Worldwide, Paul Thomalla commented yesterday on Finextra.com about the success or lack thereof when it comes to mobile payment.

He questions the publicity around the topic and suggests that despite an enthusiastic and hopeful industry and media response, the public (specifically in the UK) have not quite followed suit with their payment choices.

He acknowledges a growing familiarity with smartphone usage but points out that while people may be more than satisfied to use their mobiles for browsing, chatting, booking theatre tickets and the like, making Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term and dealing with delicate matters such as bank account details are different matters altogether. He says that “consumers are smart enough to question how this capability will actually benefit them.” And so, are yet to launch themselves into mobile payment abandon.

He also, however, credits the advancements that are notable like Barclays’ mobile peer to peer payments app Pingit which has 700-800 thousand users and VocaLink’s soon-to-launch, mobile payment system, Zapp, for checking bank balances, accessing money in real time and paying at the Point Of Sale securely on a mobile phone. And he says that while there is still much to achieve, mobile payment solutions are certainly moving forward.

But in a final look at the situation, he advises the industry to advance with care and points out that when support from the public stands in the way of success, it is vital to build trust with end users by providing solutions that are not merely exciting, but also, usable and reliable: “Mistakes upfront will stifle consumer adoption, causing users to shy away from emerging technologies regardless of the benefits promised.”

In conclusion, Thomalla leaves the industry feeling hopeful with a predicted flourish of mobile payments in 2014.