UK top in Europe in mobile payments global survey
12 June 2012
A recent global survey of mobile payments markets indicates that
amongst EU Member States, the UK market is likely to lead the way
as
the testing
ground for mobile payments and in the development of advanced
mobile payment solutions.
MasterCard
's
Mobile Payments Readiness Index (MPRI)
is based on a survey of
mobile payments markets across 34 countrie
s. The
survey measure
s
how prepared and receptive those countries are for person to person
mobile payments, m-commerce and point-of-sale mobile
payments.
Each country is
scored according to:
- Consumers' familiarity
with, willingness to use and actual use of mobile payments
- Household consumption expenditure, as well as technological factors
such as internet reach
and business use of
technology
- The level of
development of consumer financial services
- Infrastructure readiness, taking into account mobile phone
penetration, network coverage and NFC take-up
- Partnerships between
telcos
and banks to promote mobile commerce
and
- Whether legal
frameworks to foster m-commerce are in place.
The UK is ranked eighth out of the 34 nations
surveyed worldwide. Among the factors that
contribute to the UK's high score are its strong legal frameworks
and the high level of joint
venture activity and partnerships in the market. The survey
also points out clear patterns in consumer acceptance and
willingness to engage in mobile payments "laying out an
easy-to-follow road map for marketing".
The UK's prospects also benefit
from relatively high card penetration and strong user adoption of mobile and
smartphones. Based on
this analysis, the survey concludes that in the UK "it
only remains for issuers, telcos and other players to connect the
dots".
At the top of
the index is Singapore,
scoring highly due to its strong regulatory and financial
systems, although in common with other countries it
scores less highly in consumer readiness. The
survey points out that in order for mobile payments to
become widespread, markets need to demonstrate strength across all
of the category scores.
John Worthy, Partner in the Technology
& Outsourcing Group at Field Fisher
Waterhouse LLP