Mobile Wallets: Looking For Convenience In All The Wrong Places
by Ron Shevlin
ots of discussion these days regarding the adoption of mobile wallets, and whether or not they provide an added level of convenience for consumers. Writing in American Banker, Daniel Wolfe says:
“Convenience is a tired selling point for mobile wallets. The argument goes that tapping a contactless card or payment-capable phone against a special reader is so much easier and faster than swiping a card that a consumer would be eager to change their habits. In reality, most people, of course, don’t consider plastic cards all that time-consuming. Checks and cash may take a little more time than cards, but not enough to make most people demand some kind of relief.”
My take: The industry needs to redefine its perspective on mobile wallets’ convenience.
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Daniel is totally right that swiping a plastic card isn’t all that time-consuming. And even if checks and cash do take longer, let’s get real here: The heavy check writers are not the people who will be adopting mobile wallets because of its promise added convenience.
But I disagree with the point regarding mobile wallets’ selling point. Convenience is not a tired selling point. In fact, more broadly speaking, added convenience is usually the best selling point — or reason for adoption — for new technological innovations.