Consumers Getting More Comfortable with Cashless Commerce

The ability to make mobile payments could eliminate the need for consumers to carry cash and credit cards by the year 2020, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. That day may be closer at hand than we think. More than a third (37 percent) of on-the-go-consumers have used a so-called mobile wallet such as Google Wallet within the past three months.

Mobile users are becoming increasingly comfortable making purchases on their smartphones or tablets, and are looking to mobile wallet services that store their payment details on their devices or online to fund digital and in-store purchases, according to a survey of nearly 2,000 consumers conducted by JiWire, a location-based mobile advertising company.

Of the 63 percent who have not used mobile wallet services, 8 percent indicated that they would like to, the survey found. Only 14 percent said that they didn't know what a mobile wallet is.

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Almost half of consumers who have used a mobile wallet have used PayPal, with 29 percent having used Amazon and 18 percent having used Google Wallet.

"This rapid adoption of mobile wallets reinforces that the market is ripe for this sort of technological advance. Consumers seem to be both comfortable and curious about using their mobile phones to purchase," said Dee Dee Paeseler, director of strategic marketing at JiWire. "This trend is likely to help both brands and retailers close the loop on mobile transactions, ultimately taking them to the next level."

Reach BusinessNewsDaily senior writer Ned Smith at nsmith@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @nedbsmith.