Mobile phones have increasingly become tools that consumers use for banking, payments, budgeting, and shopping. Given the rapid pace of developments in the area of mobile finance, the Federal Reserve Board began conducting annual surveys of consumers’ use of mobile financial services in 2011. This 78-page report, “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services” (March, 2015) examines trends in the adoption and use of mobile banking, payments, and shopping behavior and how the emergence of mobile financial services affects consumers’ interaction with financial institutions.
Why 2015 May (finally) Be the Year of Mobile Payments
The promise of ubiquitous mobile payments has been on the horizon for years, but actual usage has been slow to take off in the US and Europe. When TechRader’s David Nield wrote about “the year of mobile payments” finally arriving, the company that figures most prominently in his article is Zapp, a UK firm that puts near real-time payments on people’s mobile phones through their existing mobile banking application. Zapp is backed by some of the largest financial services companies and retailers and, if Nield is correct, may finally lead the grand debut of the mass adoption of mobile payments.
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