The research from MPayMe revealed that out of 1,500 smartphone owners, just 10%, had actually used their device to pay for a product.  Similarly, when examining London’s Oxford Street, the study also discovered that merchants may not be embracing mobile payments either, with very few being set up to accept such transactions. This is surprising news when considering the amount of mobile wallet technology circulating in the payments industry today.

Hooman Mazaheri, European CEO at MPayMe, says: “With one or two notable exceptions, the biggest retailers and merchants in the UK are slow in adopting this new technology. It’s a similar picture for consumers too. The products currently being offered often have too many limitations and don’t offer the value or the utility to drive merchant and consumer adoption.”

MPayMe has suggested a number of reasons behind the consumer disinterest, the first being that mobile money applications do not offer any other services other than payment capabilities. It states that should the apps present the user with more money and lifestyle management opportunities, they may begin to rely on it more.  They have also claimed that as many apps are currently restricted to just one channel, for example online or in-store, consumers may be put off by having to install multiple apps to access these channels.