BOSTON — Consumers across the United States are ready to adopt a broad set of mobile commerce applications, according to new research from Dove Consulting. The research, sponsored by PSCU Financial Services, was conducted using focus groups in multiple cities, and gauged consumer interest in and predicted future use of three major mobile applications: mobile banking (using a mobile device to access banking information), mobile payment at the point-of-sale (using a mobile device to make purchases), and mobile person-to-person payments (using a mobile device to send money to another mobile device).
When asked which of these mobile applications they were most excited about using, nearly two-thirds of study participants chose mobile banking and 30 percent chose mobile payment at the point-of-sale. Only a handful indicated they were excited about mobile person-to-person payments.
According to Chris Allen, a director with Dove Consulting and head of the payments strategy team, these results are in line with the direction the financial services industry is moving.
"Given everything financial institutions have done to encourage the adoption of mobile banking, it isn't surprising that more people are comfortable with the technology and interested in using it," Allen said. "I expect as more applications are developed that allow people to use their phones and mobile devices to pay for goods and services, consumer interest in this technology will grow and we will see it move into the mainstream, probably within the next two-to-four years."
Participants indicated they are ready to start using mobile banking and mobile payment at the point-of-sale now. For both applications, adoption is likely to begin with a smaller group of tech-savvy users embracing the applications early, and the majority of consumers adopting soon afterwards once the product is more established. Person-to-person mobile payments did not resonate as strongly with participants, with few indicating they would adopt at any point in time.
