On the eve of the third anniversary of the launch of Apple Pay, mobile wallet adoption in the US and Europe is gaining traction, but Asia and Latin America continue to lead the way, according to a new report from ACI Worldwide and Aite.
The research, based on a survey of more than 6000 people in 20 countries, shows that 17% of US consumers now regularly use their smartphones to pay, up from six per cent in 2014. In Europe, the Spanish are the most active users of mobile wallets, with 25% using them regularly, followed by the Italians (24%) and Swedes (23%), compared to just 14% of Brits.
However, it is in less economically developed countries, where traditional card infrastructures are being leapfrogged, where the technology has really taken off. In India, 56% of consumers say they pay with a smartphone regularly, with Thailand and Indonesia reporting similar numbers.
Meanwhile, in the UK, 37% of respondents say they trust their bank to protect their personal information when paying via smartphone; in France, 40%; and in Holland, 28%. Compared to previous years, confidence rates regarding mobile wallet security have dropped in some countries, a sentiment that may be influenced by increasing reports of new mobile wallet fraud and scams.
"Mobile wallets really started to grow in popularity after the launch of Apple Pay almost three years ago," says Lu Zurawski, practice lead, retail banking and consumer payments, ACI. "What we are seeing is a tipping point regarding adoption, which can be attributed to consumers worldwide now almost exclusively using payment-enabled devices, as older models have cycled out, with a few exceptions."