Ixaris’ study, The Payments Innovation Jury Report 2013, reveals 64% of its respondents view mobile network providers as ‘some threat’ to the well-established payment companies of today.
It’s relatively good news for the Visas and Mastercards of this world. Only 24% considered mobile networks to be a significant threat and just 4% thought they were a serious threat.
Respondents to Ixaris’ study, known as the ‘jury’, are made up of 25 payment innovators from around the world. They consist of people who’ve held leadership roles at major organisations in payments such as global banks, major processors, international card schemes and technology firms.
Smartphones Won’t Overtake Cards For Some Time
Even those in the payment industry are unable to put a date on when smartphones will become the primary method of making payments in the developed world. Roughly a third (32%) believe it will be within three years, 24% inside five years and 20% within 10. A cynical 24% feel it won’t happen for the foreseeable future.
Mobile’s current main protagonists are set to extend their grip on mobile to the payments sector, according to Ixaris’ research. Google is being backed by the majority (61.9%) to succeed in being profitable in the e-wallet market, whereas Apple is in second with 57.1%.
Western Europe appears to be lagging when it comes to payment innovation over the next 24 months. Asia is expected to lead the way, with Africa and North America in second place.
Europe is said to be struggling because of regulation problems, a fragmented payments landscape and the banking crisis. On the other hand, developing nations are expected to prosper because it’s easier to build a payments infrastructure from scratch.
