Mobile payments on bank accounts 'will become commonplace'

By Lucy Bower

A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) states that credit cards are entering a 'midlife crisis', free bank accounts are coming to an end and mobile payments will be commonplace in the near future.

Mobile payments are still in their infancy, according to the PWC 'Precious Plastics' report, and there is some way to go before a widespread take-up. There are still some barriers providers must overcome before mobile payments will become commonplace: primarily ensuring customers benefit from them, and agreements on the infrastructure and the technology required.

The report divides mobile payments into two general categories: 'remote' and 'physical'. Remote mobile payments can be carried out no matter what your location (e.g. over the internet). Physical payments mean the devices need to be close to each other - such as swiping your card over a terminal or two phones placed next to each other to transfer money.

PWC recommends the UK cards and payments market (predominantly banks) focus on mobile payments in the physical category, such as Near Field Communication (NFC) payments with your mobile device. It sees the biggest potential for banks here.

In terms of remote mobile payments, PWC recommends banks focus on mobile app purchases, mobile bill payments and SMS based payments, as three examples.

If the report recommendations are followed, it means our mobile payments from bank accounts will involve more 'consumer-to-merchant' activity - i.e. paying bills and buying goods and services with our mobile phones, whether physically or remotely. The report suggests that mobile payments between friends and family are less of a priority for banks.

Image © iStockPhotos / TommL

Tags: mobile payments, mobile banking, bank, banking, mobile, NFC, Near Field Communication, PWC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, mobile apps, app payments

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