Incentives could increase use of mobile phones as payment devices – Accenture survey

27 Apr 2013

Financial incentives and mobile-based financial-management tools just may persuade consumers to use their smartphones more as payment devices, a survey by Accenture suggests.

Accenture surveyed 4,000 smartphone users in Canada and the US.

More than half of the survey respondents currently use their smartphones to make payments. Of those, 60pc said they were highly likely to pay by phone more often if they could use their phone to track receipts, and 56pc would use their smartphones to make payments more often if they could manage their personal finances.

More than half of the survey respondents who currently make mobile payments also said they were highly likely to pay by phone more frequently if they were offered incentives:

·        Instant coupons from retailers when buying by phone (cited by 60pc of respondents)

·        Reward points stored on their phone for future purchases at the store (cited by 51pc of respondents)

·        Coupons that could be automatically stored on their phone (cited by 50pc of respondents)

·        Preferential treatment, such as priority customer service (cited by 50pc of respondents)

The same value-added tools and incentives could increase the adoption of mobile payments among non-users.

For instance, about one in three non-users said they would be more likely to use mobile payments if they could use their phones as proof of insurance or to track receipts (each cited by 32pc of respondents).

About one in five non-users said they would be more likely to make mobile payments if they received preferential treatment at retailers or coupons for future purchases that could be stored on their phones (cited by 21pc and 20pc of respondents, respectively).

“Our survey reveals that current users and non-users alike can be incentivised to use their smartphones to make mobile payments through rewards for usage or other value-added tools, such as receipt tracking,” said Jim Bailey, managing director and head of Accenture Payment Services in North America.

“As consumers expect their smartphones to improve and simplify their lives, financial institutions, merchants, mobile network operators and technology providers should consider incorporating new mobile payment applications to encourage broad adoption as quickly as possible.”

Tina Costanza was a journalist and sub-editor at Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com