Vantiv issues 2013 payment trends top 10

Cincinnati-based acquirer Vantiv Inc. released the Top Ten Payment Trends for 2013. Topping the list is "omni-commerce," which Vantiv and its research partner Mercator Advisory Group characterized as the way in which consumers use multiple channels to research products before making purchases. The researchers said the second and third biggest trends for 2013 are mobile payments proliferation and mobile wallets, respectively. Banking relationships round out the top 10, with many consumers expecting their financial institutions to provide them with digital wallets, the researchers found.

As part of the Vantiv Insight Series Research, each year Mercator and the acquirer survey a cross-section of U.S. consumers to measure payment priorities, fears and expectations, and gauge the level of awareness and adoption rates related to emerging payment methods.

"Our research shows that consumers are beginning to embrace new, increasingly mobile options," said Moira Tamayo, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Vantiv. "It also shows that consumers expect to have even more diverse payments choices in less than two years."

Additional consumer findings:

• 57 percent are aware of mobile card readers as payment methods
• 50 percent prefer a bank or credit union provide their mobile wallets
• 46 percent usually research products online prior to in-store purchases
• 44 percent are aware of near-field-communication-based mobile wallets
• 36 percent think mobile payments will become common in the next two years
• 34 percent would be more likely to use mobile payments if offered reward programs

Although over half of those surveyed were aware of mobile card readers as a micro-merchant payment option, only 6 percent had actually used them to make payments. Fifteen percent of respondents reported owning Europay/MasterCard/Visa-chip enabled cards, of which 24 percent had used them internationally. Of the prepaid card buyers surveyed, 23 percent intended to purchase more general-purpose prepaid cards this year than they did in 2012.

Security concerns

Perceptions about lack of security on mobile devices remain a persistent concern among the majority surveyed. Only 19 percent were convinced that smart phones provide secure payment technology. As smart-phone-based payments become more prevalent in the United States, 77 percent of those surveyed indicated a preference for two-factor authentication – as opposed to single password access – in future mobile payment methodologies.

To download the research paper, visit info.vantiv.com/top-10-trends.html. For information about previous Vantiv reports, see www.vantiv.com/insights .

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