According to research in the UK, Germany and France, a quarter of mobile phone users have shown interest in using Near-Field Communication technology and smartphone applications when shopping and paying via mobile phone. In Poland and Turkey, a third of the respondents declared in favor of new technologies, while in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), as many as two thirds of the respondents had a positive attitude towards new payment methods. The research was conducted in October 2011 in 17 countries of the world.
Respondents expressed concern about the security of a new payment method using advanced technologies. Leaders in the electronic payment market such as Visa Europe , MasterCard Worldwide , Gemalto and Oberthur Technologies participated in the world summit, held at the end of 2011. Panelists and representatives of these companies led a debate about whether there are real grounds for concern about security or whether it is a matter of negative perception.
In a global sample of 13,461 respondents, as many as 69% require a guarantee that payments using a mobile phone will be secure.
However, it is not only the security issue of the entire process that troubles users and holds back the new payment platform. Only 13% of Britons know exactly which companies provide this type of service, and 14% distinguish which types of mobile payment services are available to them. With the announced introduction of this service by Visa, PayPal , Mobile Money Network and the joint project of the three largest telecommunications operators in Great Britain, it is no wonder that there is confusion among potential users as to how the whole system will actually look and function. Many aspects of the new payment method remain unclear, including whether users know who they can turn to regarding mobile payments, whether they know that their iPhones can be NFC- connected in multiple ways, whether they even know what the advantages of this type of payment are, what are the benefits of mobile wallet applications, and many others.
Financial service providers, telecommunication operators and retail establishments must design such a business solution that will meet the needs of users and enable them to take advantage of the opportunities in this new market. The question certainly arises whether the attitude of mobile phone users can be changed when it comes to payments through these devices and in what way.
Near field communication (NFC) is a set of standards intended for smartphones and similar devices to establish a mutual radio connection. The connection is established by placing the devices at a short distance, just a few cm from each other, or by touching each other. Current and planned applications include contactless transactions, data exchange and simplified settings for more complex communications such as Wi-Fi .