Mobile Payments : What ’ s in It for Consumers ?

Mobile payments—those initiated on a mobile device such as a cell phone or tablet computer—have received a significant amount of attention recently. Yet, despite the attention, mobile payments have not been widely adopted in the United States. While industry experts agree mobile payments eventually will take off, there are many barriers. Some barriers are on the supply side—for example, the difficulty of getting industry participants to agree on technological standards and the lack of compelling business models for participants. Barriers, however, also exist on the demand side. The main demand-side barrier has been the uncertain value of mobile payments to U.S. consumers. In some other countries, there have been obvious advantages to consumers of using mobile payments. Mobile payments were adopted rapidly in Japan as a convenient way of paying for mass transit. In some African countries, mobile payments gained traction because consumers lacked access to other noncash forms of payment such as checks or credit cards. Neither factor is as important in this country, raising the question of how U.S. consumers would benefit from mobile payments.