Despite the relentless onslaught of news about mobile payment initiatives, there's very little paying by phone going on, according to a Harris poll.
The survey of 2,056 adults found that only 5% of Americans have scanned their phone for admission to a movie or as an airline ticket, and fewer have done so to pay for clothing or electronics (3%), admission to a concert, live theater or performance (3%), to pay for a convenience item such as coffee (3%) or something else (7%). Two in five say they have never scanned their mobile or smart phone for any reason (40%) and slightly more say they do not have a mobile or smart phone with this capability (45%). The survey was conducted online between February 6 and 13.
But the levels of comfort with nascent mobile payment technologies are much higher. Just under half of respondents (47%) say they are comfortable using a mobile scan as an admission ticket to movies, concerts or live theater performances, while 25% are not at all comfortable with it and 15% are not sure.
About the same number of people are comfortable (41%) and not comfortable (43%) using a mobile scan as an airline, train or other transportation ticket; 15% are again, not sure.
Slightly fewer care to use a mobile app that would let them make purchases at a retailer or company as they would with a gift card (39%) while 47% are uncomfortable with this and 14% aren't sure.
Americans were more uneasy about using a mobile phone like a credit card - 63% percent are not comfortable with this. Only one quarter (24%) of Americans are comfortable, and 13% aren't sure.
Mobile software provider Sybase 365 conducted a survey of a similar nature among executives attending the Mobile World Congress in late February in Barcelona and found again, that people don't expect near-field communication-style mobile payments to become mainstream for least two years. What's holding things back? "The biggest one by far was consumers' perception of security," says Diarmuid Mallon, head of product marketing global messaging & mobile commerce. "That's a common theme - what happens when I lose my phone?"
The absence of a preferred execution model is also an inhibiting factor for mobile payments Lack of coordination between industry stakeholders was cited by 24% of attendees.
