Survey: Mobile payments not popular with consumers

Americans are skeptical about mobile payments despite the hype about Apple Pay and Google Wallet.

Two-thirds of Americans would “never” or “hardly ever” use their cell phone to make a purchase, according to a new CreditCards.com report.

These results – little changed from six months ago – indicate the public remains skeptical of services such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet, despite massive promotional efforts that included Monday’s Apple Watch launch event.

Only 6 percent would “always” make a mobile payment and 11 percent would do so “most of the time.”

Most likely to use mobile payments:

• Hispanics

• Millennials

• Southerners

Least likely to use mobile payments:

• Whites

• Senior citizens

• Westerners

“The biggest obstacles to mobile payments usage are convenience and security,” said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst for CreditCards.com. “Consumers are already very comfortable swiping their credit and debit cards. Most people don’t see why a mobile payments service would be quicker, easier, or more secure.”

Princeton Survey Research Associates International conducted the survey.

Copyright 2015, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist