GLOBAL MOBILE PAYMENTS TO INCREASE

There’s little arguing the meteoric rise of smartphones in recent years. As the technology continues to mature at a rapid pace, adoption rates will keep growing and the means by which consumers use mobile devices to interact with the world around them will also mature.

According to The Pew Internet Research Project, nearly two-thirds of U.S. citizens currently own a smartphone, while one in five Americans rely on smartphones to access online services and broadband connections. While that figure still may seem small, the 64 percent of U.S. citizens who now own smartphones is a markedly high rise from the 35 percent of consumers that did in 2011.

Mobile payments on the rise

Seeing as a majority of domestic consumers now own smartphones and regularly use them to interact with the surrounding world, it only makes sense that mobile payments are also growing quickly. MultichannelMerchant’s annual global payments executive summary found the number of online shoppers will grow by more than 50 percent from 1 billion to more than 1.6 billion in 2018. Although there are various ways to complete a transaction online, the study also found that mobile payments are outpacing traditional e-commerce transactions in growth across the globe. According to separate data compiled by German market research firm ystats.com, mobile payment transaction volume is expected to reach nearly 50 billion by the end of this year.

Now that the global consumer is far more connected than ever before, businesses must invest in mobile payment infrastructure. Businesses processing payments from all locations can greatly benefit from a mobile infrastructure. From a consumer standpoint, buyers want the flexibility they need to shop at their own leisure. It’s no longer rare to see a product listed on an international website and not only pay for the product with easy conversion software, but also have it shipped to an address on a different continent in a reasonable amount of time.

Security is a primary talking point when it comes to making mobile payments, particularly with the recent high-profile data breaches at major U.S. retailers. However, new and emerging technology is being designed with security in mind, placing a high emphasis on protecting sensitive customer information at the point of sale. As mobile payments continue to grow, businesses should place a stronger emphasis on their mobile infrastructure and take steps to ensure they can process these transactions as they come through.

Find out more: https://chexxinc.com/global-mobile-payments-to-increase/