As much as consumers are more confident in their devices, they still have serious concerns
Mobile security was a substantial barrier to the widespread adoption of digital payments and wallet apps, despite the convenience they had to offer their users.
Millions of people now use digital payments
Still, as much as this technology has increased considerably in popularity in recent years, mobile security is still a leading barrier to its use or to the use of some of its features such as bill payments.
About 60 percent of US consumers have used digital payments to pay their bills in the last year, according to PYMNTS Intelligence research results. That said, among the consumers who said that they did not use this transaction method, their main concern remained that security, followed by inconveniences they had faced or believed they would face, and payment issues.
The study results were published under the title “Digital Bill Payments: Mobile Wallets Gain Popularity, but Hurdles Remain,” and it was a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and ACI Worldwide.
In this most recent version of the survey, consumers were given the opportunity to provide details about their experiences with paying via digital channels, including making bill payments, their preferences for making these payments, their frustrations, and what they would like to access in order to make bill payments.
Mobile security was a concern for almost 35 percent of digital payment non-users
According to the results of the study, among those who were not using a mobile wallet for bill payments, 35 percent said that security was a top reason for their choice. Another 16 percent said that it was inconvenient, and 14 percent cited payment issues for not using that transaction method.
Even as digital payments take off, it is clear that there is still a long way to go before it will sway the millions of holdouts.
If companies want consumers to use this technology, then research results such as these will help to provide some areas of focus for making their platforms more appealing to those who are hesitant.
Within the last year, 40 percent of consumers had tried new digital wallet services within the prior 12 months. The majority said that speed and convenience were among the top reasons they chose to do so. Among them, 48 percent made the switch due to the ease of use, and another 40 percent did so because of the time savings.