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.
According to the company, when Zapp launches this summer, 35% of UK bank accounts (18 million customers) will be set up with Zapp, and 23 major retailers are supporting it.
Peter Keenan, CEO of Zapp said, “The success of early forms of mobile payment and the buzz around forthcoming launches of mass market initiatives has clearly whetted consumers’ appetites… I’m confident 2015 will prove a tipping point, as simple, secure mobile payments like Zapp become a reality for millions of British consumers.”
Read more, via Tech Radar