No. 2: But Public Transit Might Help the Cause
There are a handful of solid reasons for the case against dramatic proximity mobile payment growth. But one key way that consumers can become familiar with contactless payments is via public transit. Several major metropolitan areas in the US—including New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia—have either announced plans to install contactless payments at mass transit stations, or have already rolled them out.
These systems don’t necessarily require or support the use of smartphones to complete transactions, but they can make users more conversant with tap-to-pay interfaces. The uptake of tap-to-pay cards in London’s public transit system has been dramatic.
A report from Mastercard cited by Mobile Payments Today in December 2018 found that about 17 million trips per week on London’s subways, buses and ferries were made with contactless payments, accounting for about 45% of all trips.
No. 3: Retailers Demand Loyalty
Even with all of the hurdles faced by proximity mobile payments, there are a few success stories. Some of the biggest can be found among retailers. eMarketer estimates that Starbucks will have more mobile payment users than Apple Pay over the next four years. Why? Because they’ve combined a habitual purchase with a loyalty program, giving daily buyers of a cup of coffee a reason to switch over from other payment methods.
Other retailers like Walmart, Target and Dunkin' Brands have adopted a similar approach to mobile payments by leveraging the power of loyalty and using mobile payments as a way to make the checkout process as painless as possible. Expect more retailers to follow in their footsteps.