US NFC survey shows iPhone owners are ready for a mobile digital wallet

A US NFC survey of 1000 smartphone users conducted by shopping site Retrevo has turned up some interesting results with regards to adopting an NFC mobile digital wallet.  As expected Apple and Google lead the charge as far as expected adoption is concerned and even more interestingly, users appear to be compelled to trust operating systems and their providers more than they trust credit card companies and financial institutions to provide NFC mobile digital wallets. As you will know by now, we love statistics and will take you through some of the more intriguing tidbits we can garner from this survey of a relatively small pool of respondents.

US NFC survey highlights Android and IOS users are not very excited at the thought of paying for purchases with their phones or using NFC mobile digital wallets

To a degree, we have to take this survey with a grain of salt as it only surveyed a very small pool of consumers, but the results still show some definite trends for us to watch out for in larger consumer polls. When iPhone and Android owners were asked if they were waiting for an NFC mobile digital wallet, under 50% indicated they wanted the functionality. Some 35% of iPhone owners said “no way Jose”, while an even higher 44% of Android owners indicated they would not want to use their phones for NFC payments. As we have come to expect from other surveys between 25% and 32% of those polled, respectively, had no idea what NFC or a mobile digital wallet is. While 40% of iPhone owners said they wanted to use their phones for as an NFC mobile digital wallet, only 24% of Android users felt the same. This is very telling as Google has already introduced America to its vision of a digital wallet by ways of its Google Wallet product and we can see from the poll that it has not resonated with the survey respondents. More education and assurances could be needed to build confidence in users and allow them to see an NFC mobile digital wallet as a viable proposition.We do need to remember that we have no idea of how many iPhone or Android owners were polled. If more iPhone owners or vice-versa were polled, it could skew the results by quite a degree with only 1000 smartphone owners taking part of the survey.

US NFC survey shows consumer demand for NFC mobile digital wallets is currently low

We think it is clear from the above graphic that only 1/5 of consumers who were surveyed wanted to use  an NFC mobile digital wallet. Out of the 1000 people surveyed it shows 74%, a higher percentage of respondents than expected, were educated to what a mobile wallet is, with only 21% wanting to utilize the technology. We would love to have had some data on why people felt this way which would have identified main objections to using the technology, but we suspect security would top the list of fears.

US NFC survey indicates resources most trusted to deliver resources for providing NFC mobile digital wallets

The US NFC survey also found that smartphone users would be less likely to trust their carrier or even a credit card card company to provide them with an NFC mobile digital wallet. We must say the data carrier statistics did not overly surprise us and the fact that just over a quarter of those surveyed in the study showed trust in a carrier to provide them with an NFC mobile digital wallet shows sure signs of why the Isis joint venture is struggling to define a clear path that appeals to the masses. It is interesting to see credit card companies not faring as well as smartphone OS providers though, as these very same financial institutions have been trusted for transactions for 60 years by consumers and we feel the study could show that consumers view NFC mobile digital wallets as more of a smartphone technology than that of a transactional enabling technology. Apple tops the list in the confidence rankings with 61% of iPhone users demonstrating comfort in the idea that the company could be trusted to provide NFC mobile digital wallet software and services. Considering how no actual programs are launched as yet Google also faired well with figures approaching 50% of iPhone and Android users feeling they could be trusted. Both Google and Apple were viewed less trustworthy by non-Android or IOS users, but there again 33% of non IOS or Android users also felt they could trust no organization they were questioned about to provide an NFC mobile digital wallet.

US NFC survey demographic data pertaining to NFC mobile digital wallet adoption

This study of US smartphone owners falls in line with a study MasterCard commissioned last month, which basically shows that the young are ready for NFC mobile digital wallets, where the older generations are far more cautious about embracing this next step in payments technology. In fact, 75% of those question who were over 50 stated they had no interest in using the technology which when paralleled with the 28% of people that fit the age range of between 18 and 35 years old who showed that they would actively use NFC mobile digital wallet products.

The US NFC survey also highlighted that men had a greater interest in utilizing an NFC mobile digital wallet product to pay for goods and services. The study found that 27% of men surveyed, as opposed with only 15% of women wanted to use an NFC mobile digital wallet.

In conclusion, the battle of acceptance needs to be aimed squarely at women over the age of 50, closely followed by anyone over 35 years old. Education and marketing are required to alleviate fears and dispel rumors about the technology. The young will be the early adopters and will convert each other through word of mouth and this US NFC survey clearly illustrates the mobile OS providers appear in the public’s mind to be perfectly situated and trusted to bring NFC mobile digital wallets to the market. This is just one survey and in the grand scheme didn’t ask that many people their opinions. However, this is an ongoing study and will improve in reliability as more respondents are added and if numbers of each demographic is given in actual numbers as well as in percentages. Don’t worry NFC mobile digital wallet, we still love you.