Survey: Mobile wallet adoption has flatlined

Mobile wallet usage in the United States remains small, and shows no signs of increasing anytime soon.



This was according to “PYMNTS/InfoScout Mobile Payment Adoption,” a new report from PYMNTS.com. The survey, which was conducted in March 2017 among more than 7,655 consumers, said less than one in 20 consumers who have one of the main mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Sam-sung Pay, and Android Pay) use it regularly.



The study also showed the percentage of people who have tried mobile wallets has flatlined. The only exception is Apple Pay, which has seen its usage go down for the first time. However, Apple Pay leads the pack when it comes to the number of consumers that have tried it at least once (22%), compared to Samsung Pay (15%), and Android Pay (less than 10%).



However, those who have installed Samsung Pay have used it at mer-chants that had supporting technology (4.5%). Apple Pay came in a close second at 4.0%, while Android Pay trailed behind at 1.1%.



One product garnering more attention is Walmart Pay. After eight months on the market, 3.3% of shoppers installed the app on their phone, com-pared to Apple Pay (available for almost three years) and Samsung and Android Pay (both on the market for almost two years), all of which have seen fairly flat usage for their entire availability, the study reported.



“So far, mobile wallets aren’t attracting much consumer interest,” Karen Webster, CEO of pymnts.com said. “The lesson, though, isn’t that wallets are dead. Rather, the providers and innovators really need to focus on features that will get consumers, and merchants, excited.”



What is to blame for the sluggish adoption among consumers? Shoppers reported they are happy with their current payment methods, such as plastic cards and cash. One bright spot for mobile wallets is that people are becoming less worried about security, according to the study.