WASHINGTON -- Mobile-payment systems loomed large in the Washington Post’s prediction of the trends that will be hot in retailing in 2016.
“Mobile payments will finally take off—with a little help from chip credit cards,” the newspaper wrote about the No. 1 trend in its list of five hot topics, citing expert insights.
“For years now, forecasters have said mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are poised to become a commonplace way of transacting at retail checkout counters. But so far, consumers have been slow to ditch plastic cards,” the report said.
Expert Andy Schmidt, who studies mobile payments for insight and technology company CEB, said that could change next year.
Retailers and banks are migrating to more-secure chip credit cards, but the payment process can take longer—3 or 4 seconds—than consumers are used to. Sounds small, but frustrating for consumers, Schmidt said. Thus, mobile payment—that is, paying via an app with the simple wave of a smart phone—could final take hold.
“Plenty of companies will be jockeying to be your mobile wallet of choice: In addition to services from Apple, Samsung and Google, Walmart has launched its own mobile payments offering that works across most smartphones and operating systems. Target is reportedly working on a similar offering. Those moves, Schmidt said, may mean that 2016 is a make-or-break year for MCX’s mobile payments app. This system, still in pilot mode, was created by a consortium of retailers looking to avoid the interchange fees they must pay on credit card transactions.”
“You have seemingly a shift in the market away from trying to reduce interchange at the retailer level to just wanting to be top of mind, to stay relevant,” Schmidt said.
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