Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, mobile payment uptake was largely driven by convenience. While convenience is still important, the pandemic has put a spotlight on how safe mobile payment is, both from a data security and a public health perspective.
When tightly integrated with a loyalty program, mobile payments help merchants capture information about consumer buying habits and, consequently, develop closer digital relationships with customers. In fact, mobile payment and loyalty go hand-in-hand.
While still popular, cash is falling out of favor as more and more people use credit and debit for even small purchases under $10. And in today’s pandemic where cash can be a vehicle for virus transmission, people are even more reluctant to use it.
The United States is still in the early adopters’ phase of mobile payment. In other parts of the world, particularly Asia and Europe, mobile payments are more prevalent. This is partly because in the U.S. there are different payment platforms and processors running different systems.
