Smartphone and smartwatch adoption are at an all-time high in Canada and the United States. While the initial role mobile phones played was to make phone calls, for most, taking and receiving phone calls has become one of the lesser used functions of smartphones. From texting, social media, calendar, alarms and alerts, gaming, videos, photos, and surfing the web—we rely heavily on our smartphones. Yet paying with your mobile is a slowly growing trend that is likely to shift drastically in the next 2 -3 years due to Mobile Point Of Sale. (mPOS)
CONSUMERS HAVE A FEW RESERVATIONS
Many consumer’s express reservations regarding mobile payment processing, but for those of us who remember, there were similar reservations when online shopping was born. Now online shopping is for many a regular occurrence.
Most consumers have adopted some form of mobile payment processing, such as purchasing music, apps, or making in-app purchases. In order to make such purchases, a credit or debit card is kept on file—or some purchases, bill as a subscription service to your cell phone bill—such as HBO Now. Slowly but surely, we are getting more comfortable with mobile payment processing.
MOBILE PAYMENT PROCESSING
On the in-person retail side, apps and gadgets allow retailers to process payments by swiping a debit or credit card and processing through their smartphone or notebook.
On the consumer side some apps allow you to “reload” your account and pay with only your mobile phone while in-store. The most successful of this type of app so far are the Starbucks app.
While out and about, you can even send money to friends. For example, if you join a large group for dinner, one friend can pay the bill—and the rest of you can send them your portion of the bill via ChasePay or even PayPal.
MOBILE WALLET
While the payment processing options above are certainly part of the equation, it is the mobile wallet that could allow you to leave your cash, debit, and credit cards at home. With apps like Android Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal, you can store your payment information securely—and scan to pay for your purchases. While you still may need photo ID, the need to carry a traditional wallet may soon be a personal preference—but not a requirement.
Furthermore, SAY HELLO TO TO CLOUD WALLET: Cloud Wallet is a newborn baby, it is a new phenomenon …users and as well as digital marketers haven’t touched its surface yet.
The largest area of opportunity mobile payment processors and mobile wallets have, is to provide users with the confidence and peace of mind that if their phone is lost or stolen—that sufficient security measures are in place, and that they have fraud protection with their mobile wallets equivalent to that of a debit or credit card.
Very soon losing a mobile phone/gadget will not be a matter as long as you have your Cloud Wallet information you can restore your
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wallet-still-thing-ben-bahman-ramedani