We are entering a new era of retail, but new research shows that people are still skeptical about mobile payments.
A survey by Finder.com.au found that 59 percent of Australian consumers were reluctant to use their mobile phone number as their PayID, to tie it to (New Payments Platform), the "new payment platform." The platform exits in February, allowing users to pay without entering bank account information and BSB numbers, simply by entering PayID.
Forty-one percent of the 2085 respondents said it was too unsafe to transfer money with just one cell phone number. Another 18% are worried that they will enter the wrong numbers and transfer the money to the wrong people, although there is a two-step authentication program to prevent this from happening.
At the same time, 41% of those willing to pay with mobile numbers are only willing to make transfers of no more than 50 yuan.
Finder.com.au spokeswoman Bessie Hassan said convenience is a good thing for most people, but not everyone.
"Australians are finally able to transfer money in real time, but they're not interested," Hassan said. "the new technology should be simpler than the traditional complex technology, where the traditional platform needs to enter the recipient's BSB number and account number, but the reality is that while speed is important, people think it puts them at potential risk."
We’re used to card payments, so why not phones? Picture: iStock.
Younger Australians are more enthusiastic, with 61 percent of Gen Y respondents saying payment with mobile phone numbers is safe, compared with 37 percent for Generation X and 17 percent for Boomers.
Joseph Hanlon, the publisher of WhistleOut, a telecoms comparison company, said most payment technologies had been slow to popularize at first, but people would soon get used to the idea.
"this is true of any new payment technology, but people will eventually accept it."
Mobile payments are no less secure than other existing technologies, Hanlon said. Australia is more receptive than other countries, such as the United States, Hanlon said.