Eighteen percent of the 1003 consumers surveyed reported that they have performed some type of mobile payment, including online bill payment, transfers or payments to individuals, online loan payments, and online purchases.

Mobile payment uptake was more widespread among younger respondents, with one quarter of people aged 18 to 34 using the technology.

The relationship with household income is less clear-cut. Usage is widest in the $35K to $49.9K bracket, says Synergistics, reaching one-quarter of this group before declining somewhat as income increases.

Genie Driskill, COO of Synergistics says companies should begin moving toward accommodating the need among their customers for mobile payments.

"The time horizon between early adoption and broader usage, driven by technology and near instantaneous communications, is much shorter now than in years past," he says. "This means a priority must be placed on having the technology infrastructure, payment processing systems, and customer support in place to meet the needs of these customers."

In February, UK m-banking outfit Monilink reported a surge of interest in mobile payments, with over half a million pounds transferred by users in the previous month.