BROOKFIELD, Wis.—A new study shows that mobile wallets are still not catching on with most Americans, but of those using the offerings Millennials are leading the way.
According to a report from Fiserv, one-third of late Millennials and 36% of early Millennials have used a mobile wallet, compared to just 16% of the entire adult population.
“The high adoption rate among Millennials could indicate more use of mobile wallets in the future as members of this generation continue to age,” stated Bill Hardekopf, CEO at LowCards.com, Birmingham, Ala. “Furthermore, many mobile wallet providers are now trying to cross-promote their services on other operating systems, such as Android Pay coming to iOS devices. This may pave the way for a larger audience of mobile wallet users in future years.”
For those not using mobile wallets, the biggest reason was convenience, the survey explained— 80% of survey respondents said debit and credit cards are easier to use than mobile wallets. Sixty-seven percent said they were worried about the security of mobile payments, and 65% said they didn't see the benefit of mobile wallets. Others said they don't have time to set up their mobile wallets, or don't understand the various mobile wallets available to them.
“The study showed mobile wallet adoption is not necessarily hindered because people don't like the concept. It is more about remaining loyal to traditional payment options,” said Hardekopf. “Americans are already struggling to adopt to chip-enabled cards, let alone Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay and similar products. A vast majority of consumers simply do not seem to be interested in changing their payment options.”