Do we really need another payment method?
With the launch of Android Pay today – Is the UK ready to adopt another ‘tap and go’ payment option or are we opening the flood gates and adding to the already confusing number of ‘ways to pay’ for the public?
Rory Cellan-Jones, the BBC’s Technology reporter writes today on the launch of Android Pay:
So, is this the moment when the dream of your phone becoming a mobile wallet – promised for at least a decade – becomes a reality? That was supposed to happen with Apple Pay but a source in the payments industry tells me that was a bit premature. “Last time I looked at our figures, one in 10 payments was contactless, but less than one in a 100 were from a mobile phone,” he said.
As an ATM provider and an active advocate for cash and customer choice, we asked our MD Ewan Ogilvie his thoughts regarding the launch of the latest mobile payment app.
One of the most fundamental reasons for how we make a payment is convenience. That could be with debit, credit or contactless cards, via mobile or simply cash. In a recent survey we conducted, it interestingly highlighted that only 2% of the 1000 respondents preferred to pay by their mobile and less than 5% didn’t believe that mobile payment options would remain an option for the future.
Furthermore, according to our survey results, around two fifths of the UK thinks that technology makes payment less secure, and one in five people admitted to having been defrauded. So whilst mobile payments may seem attractive, we have to ask if these products will be adopted by cautious customers.
With the addition of Android Pay, we will likely lead to an uplift in mobile transactions. However, with no proven track record (as yet) older forms of payment will continue to remain at the forefront of people payment choice, not least cash.
So whilst choice is an absolute necessity – do we think we will be app’d out…with the launch of Samsung Pay later this year? There is a possibility!!
