Two studies have been recently released concerning the digital and mobile wallet space, with contrasting results
PayPal’s winning this battle, but Google’s going to win the war. That’s according to two contrasting pieces of research published earlier this month concerning digital and mobile wallets.
comScore’s latest Digital Wallet Road Map has shown that whilst plenty of users are aware of Google Wallet, PayPal is blazing a clear trail in terms of digital wallet use.
PayPal is the most recognised digital wallet system according to the comScore survey, with 72% of respondents aware of the wallet. This compares favourably with Google Wallet (41% awareness), with MasterCard PayPass recognised by 13% of respondents.
However, in terms of respondents who practically used the technology, PayPal was used by 48% of those polled. After that it was a pretty sorry state of affairs, with Google Wallet (8%) and MasterCard PayPass (3%) again comprising the top three.
Lack of penetration may be one thing, but if you haven’t got the awareness, you’re not going to go anywhere.
“While these impediments may seem like a steep hill to climb, we have seen this story play out before in the financial services industry,” noted comScore payments practice leader Andrea Jacobs, adding: “There was a time when consumers were reluctant to use ATMs for similar reasons, and, today, look at how far we’ve come since the 1970s and 1980s.”
Elsewhere, a survey from payment provider ACI Worldwide has revealed that, according to the majority of attendees at the 2013 NRF conference, Google is most likely to win the “mobile wallet wars”.
According to the research, conducted and released in January, 53% of respondents thought that Google would prevail in the mobile wallet space, compared to 25% for PayPal and only 4% for ISIS.
Back in November, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) concluded that the mobile wallet was the concept which was “most appealing” to smartphone users in the USA and South Korea “assuming the scenarios were possible”.
The research uncovered some other intriguing mobile payment trends.
“Simply stated, we are at an inflection point as retailers face pressure to implement mobile payment strategies, meet EMV migration deadlines and comply with PCI data security standards,” said Jeff Hale, ACI Worldwide senior vice president of retail payments in a prepared statement.
So, who is going to win the digital wallet war?
